The Vicksburg Post prints obituaries for residents, former residents and residents’ immediate family members who resided elsewhere when notified by a family member or a funeral home. There is no charge for printing an obituary, but all are edited to meet the newspaper’s requirements.

Willie B. Carson

Services for Willie B. Carson will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Belmont M.B. Church in Utica. Burial will follow at the church cemetery.

Visitation will be from 4 until 6 tonight at Williams Funeral Service.

Mr. Carson died Saturday, Oct. 25, 2003, in Riverside, Calif. He was 58.

A resident of Riverside, Mr. Carson was of the Baptist faith. He retired from Coca-Cola Company after 30 years of service.

He was preceded in death by his father, Willie B. Carson; a brother, Andrew Carson; and a sister, Laura Carson.

Survivors include his mother, Carrie Lee Carson of Vicksburg; two daughters, Gina Martin of California and Tamela Martin of Houston, Texas; two brothers, Calvin “Bud” Carson and Harold Carson, both of Vicksburg; two sisters, Carrie Whaley of Houston and Debbie Conway of Las Vegas; and other relatives and friends.

Edna Derby

Services for Edna Derby will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at Williams Funeral Home. Burial will follow at Cedar Hill Cemetery.

Visitation will be today at the funeral home.

Mrs. Derby died Saturday, Oct. 25, 2003, at River Region West Campus. She was 84.

A retired cook, Mrs. Derby was of the Baptist faith.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Roscoe Derby; her parents, Hattie and Edward Prentiss; a daughter, Theresa Myles; a son, Leroy Freeman; and four uncles.

Survivors include a daughter, Zorada Derby of Vicksburg; two sons, Larry Freeman of Vicksburg and Willie Freeman of Richardson, Texas; one sister, Louise Means of Vicksburg; and grandchildren and other relatives.

Edna Whitaker Hatchett

Edna Whitaker Hatchett died Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2003, at River Region Medical Center. She was 81.

Mrs. Hatchett was a resident of Vicksburg.

She was preceded in death by her husband, A.J. Hatchett; her parents, Austin and Patsy Whitaker; four brothers, Leon Whitaker, George Whitaker, Albert Whitaker and James Whitaker; four sisters, Theresa Nash, Lucille Brumfield, Rosie Stewart and Mary Helen Lee; and a grandson.

Survivors include a son, George Calvin Sr. of Vicksburg; a sister, Susie Mae Tolliver of Aurora, Ill.; two grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; two great-great-grandchildren; nieces and nephews; and other relatives, including Aaron Shone Walker of Vicksburg.

W.H. Jefferson Funeral Home has charge of arrangements.

Lillian Golden Edwards Lyles

COLUMBUS, Ga. Lillian Golden Edwards Lyles died Monday, Oct. 13, 2003, in Columbus, Ga. She was 79.

Mrs. Lyles was a former resident of Bolton and was of the Baptist faith.

Survivors include a brother, Charles Golden of Columbus; five sons, Bruce Edwards of Vicksburg, Brian Edwards, Kelvin Edwards, Vincent Edwards and Randolph Edwards, all of Jackson; five daughters, Patricia Jamison, Barbara McLeroy and Gertrude McDougal, all of Clinton, Lillian Lewis of Austin, Texas, and Linda Edwards of Jackson.

Services were at 11 a.m. Monday, Oct. 20, 2003, in Columbus under the direction of J.W. Jones Funeral Home.

Larry Earnest Ratcliff

OAK GROVE Larry Earnest Ratcliff died Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2003, in Shreveport, La. He was 56.

A resident of Oak Grove, Mr. Ratcliff was a paratrooper with the 173rd Airborne during the Vietnam War.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Harvey and Helen Ratcliff; and a grandchild.

Survivors include his wife, Shirley Ratcliff of Oak Grove; a son, Scott Ratcliff of Monroe; a daughter, Kerry Diane Bonner Kisner of Oak Grove; two brothers, Clifford Ratcliff of Abbeville, Miss., and Jerry Ratcliff of Oak Grove; a sister, Rita Ratcliff of San Antonio, Texas; and six grandchildren.

Services will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at Immanuel Christian Fellowship Church in Oak Grove with the Rev. Stowe Harbin officiating. Burial will follow at Oak Grove Cemetery under the direction of Brown-Holley Funeral Home.

Claude Albert Riddle

Services for Claude Albert Riddle will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Riles Funeral Home with the Rev. David Case, pastor of Lighthouse Assembly of God, and the Rev. Patrick Farrell, pastor of St. Paul Catholic Church, officiating. Burial will follow at Green Acres Cemetery.

Visitation will be from 9 a.m. Saturday until the service at the funeral home.

Mr. Riddle died Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2003, at River Regional Medical Center. He was 68.

A Vicksburg native, Mr. Riddle was the son of the late Claude A. and Mary Elizabeth Shaffer Riddle. He was a graduate of St. Aloysius High School and served with the Navy Seabees during the Korean War.

He retired after 37 years of service as an engineer from Kansas City Southern Railroad. He was of the Catholic faith.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a sister, Rita Evans, and three brothers, Donald Riddle, Mike Riddle and Buddy Salmon.

Survivors include his wife, Minnie Lou “Inkey” Riddle of Vicksburg; one daughter, Kimberly Riddle Parham of Vicksburg; one son, Mark Allen Riddle of Vicksburg; five sisters, Bettie Rooks of Jackson and Ann Mahoney, Margaret Bucci, Barbara Cesare and Pat Middleton, all of Vicksburg; a brother, Billy Riddle of Vicksburg; one granddaughter, Michaela Kathleen Parham of Vicksburg; and nieces and nephews.

Pallbearers will be Dunaway Brooks, Mickey Mahoney, Kevin Mahoney, Scott Hamm, Greg Hamm, Phillip Bucci, Ken Johnson and Tim Opiela.

Honorary pallbearers will be former co-workers at Kansas City Southern Railroad.

Memorials may be made to Vicksburg Catholic School, 1900 Grove St., Vicksburg, MS 39183 or to Lighthouse Assembly of God Church, 1790 Sherman Ave., Vicksburg, MS 39183.