January 2, 2004

Published 12:00 am Friday, January 2, 2004

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.

George Flowers

George “Wally” Flowers died Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2003, at Central Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. He was 73.

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A native of Cairo, Ill., Mr. Flowers had been a Vicksburg resident since 1965. He was an Army veteran, serving in the Korean Conflict. He retired as master towboat captain for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1993.

He was a member and past president of the Vicksburg Exchange Club. He served on the board of the Vicksburg-Warren Humane Society and was past treasurer of the Vicksburg Kennel Club. He had been president of the local chapter of AARP.

Mr. Flowers was past president of the Child Abuse Prevention Center Board of Directors, serving as a court-appointed special advocate. He participated in fire safety programs with his Dalmatian, the mascot for the Vicksburg Fire Department.

He was a member of Gibson Memorial United Methodist Church.

He was preceded in death by his parents, George and Cressie Mae Craig Flowers; one brother, Leroy Flowers; one sister, Virginia Flowers; and a wife, Gladys Irene Flowers.

Survivors include his wife, Nancy Sue Flowers of Vicksburg; a son, Steven Craig Flowers of Hattiesburg; two stepdaughters, Lisa Cassel of Orlando, Fla., and Tami Cassel of Lafayette, Colo.; one sister, Mae F. Turner of St. Louis; and a grandson, Daniel Cassel of Orlando.

Services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Glenwood Funeral Home with the Revs. Ed Hightower and Rusty White officiating. Burial will follow at Green Acres Memorial Park.

Visitation will be from 5 until 8 tonight at the funeral home.

Pallbearers will be Marvin Anderson, Tommy Young, Bob Gordon, David O’Bannon, John O’Bannon, Rusty Brasfield and Don Whittenburg.

Honorary pallbearers will be David Haworth, Dan Daily, Joe Wooley, Jeff Crevitt, Petesy Smith, Betsy Smith, John Harris, T.K. Grant, Kenneth Wilson and Dr. Murray Whitaker.

Memorials may be made to the Vicksburg-Warren Humane Society or to the Vicksburg Child Abuse Prevention Center.

Joseph Wayne Gray

Joseph Wayne Gray died Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2003, at Mississippi Baptist Medical Center in Jackson. He was 68.

Born in Covington, Texas, Mr. Gray was a former resident of Cleburne, Texas, and had lived in Vicksburg since 1991. He was the son of the late Joseph Raymond and Euretha Geneva Gilliam Gray.

He graduated from Covington High School and received a degree from Arlington State University in Arlington, Texas. He served in the Air Force for three years.

Mr. Gray was a computer systems analyst with the Information Technology Laboratory for the U.S. Government Waterways Experiment Station. He was of the Baptist faith.

He is survived by his wife, Saundra S. Gray of Vicksburg; a son, David Gray of Fort Worth, Texas; two sisters, Lura Nail of Lubbock, Texas, and Alice Ledbetter of Guthrie, Okla.; two brothers, Robert Gray of Cleburne and Weldon Gray of Topeka, Texas; and two grandchildren, Campbell Gray and Isabel Gray.

Services will be at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Riles Funeral Home with the Rev. Al Carden, chaplain of Mississippi Baptist Medical Center, officiating. Private burial will be at Cedar Hill Cemetery.

Visitation will be from 5 until 7 tonight at the funeral home.

Ida Mae Hemphill

OAK GROVE Ida Mae Hemphill died today, Jan. 2, 2004, at West Carroll Memorial Hospital in Oak Grove. She was 83.

Mrs. Hemphill was a resident of Oak Grove.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Jack Hemphill; her parents, Jack Calvin Corbin and Nancy Jane Tharpe; two brothers, Leonard Corbin and Jake Corbin; and three sisters, Ruby Bryan, Nancy Sullivan and Nell Willie.

Survivors include three brothers, Billy Ray Corbin and R.C. “Bud” Corbin, both of Baton Rouge, and Blackie Corbin of Columbia, La.; two sisters, Doris Robinson of Monroe and Omah Dale Wheeler of West Monroe, La.; and a granddaughter.

Services will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at Cox Funeral Home in Oak Grove with the Rev. Mike Howard officiating. Burial will follow at Beulah Cemetery.

Visitation will be Saturday until the service at the funeral home.

Pallbearers will be Tommy Sullivan, Tommy Sullivan Jr., Allen Sullivan, Robert Robinson, Barry Sullivan and Billy Sullivan.

Harry William Hude Sr.

A Mass of the Resurrection for Harry William Hude Sr. will be said at 11 a.m. Saturday at St. Paul Catholic Church with the Rev. Patrick Farrell, pastor, officiating. Burial will follow at Cedar Hill Cemetery.

Visitation will be from 5 until 7 tonight at Riles Funeral Home.

Mr. Hude died Monday, Dec. 29, 2003, at Arlington Memorial Hospital in Arlington, Texas. He was 81.

Mr. Hude was born in Vicksburg to John and Edna Tucker Hude. A 1941 graduate of St. Aloysius High School, he participated in the football program. He graduated from George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and served in the Air Force in World War II.

He retired as accountant-internal auditor from the Ling Tempco Vought Corp. He was a member of St. Michael Catholic Church.

He is survived by his wife, Rosemary Koestler Hude of Arlington; a daughter, Cindy H. McKay Carpenter of Mansfield, Texas; two sons, Harry W. Hude II of Scottsdale, Ariz., and Charles Koestler Hude of Vancouver, Wash.; a brother, Halvor Hude of Memphis; and nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Pallbearers will be Carl Koestler, Stephen Hude, Billy Keith McKay, Michael Koestler, John Owen, Danny Koestler, Paul Koestler and Lawrence Koestler.

Honorary pallbearers will be Mel Carlson, Joe Canizaro, John Robbins, Charles Kette, George Roesch and Brodie Sloan.

Memorials may be made to St. Paul Catholic Church, P.O. Box 646, Vicksburg, MS 39181-0646.

Clytee P. Huffman

Clytee P. Huffman died Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2003, at River Region Medical Center. She was 63.

A native of Humphreys County, Mrs. Huffman had lived in Canton before moving to Vicksburg in 1972. She was a homemaker and a member of the Pentecostal faith.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Solomon E. Huffman; her parents, Charlie and Mary Ruth Plunkett; two sons, Solomon E. Huffman Jr. and Carl Wayne Huffman; and two brothers, Clifton C. Plunkett and Charlie C. Plunkett Jr.

Survivors include Dave Guess of Vicksburg; two daughters, Linda G. Morris and Dalonda J. Dement, both of Vicksburg; five brothers, Robert Curtis Plunkett of Phoenix, Ala., Samuel Plunkett of Pearl and Everett Adcock, Joe Edward Keith and Albert Keith, all of Sallis, Miss.; five sisters, Billy Faye Perry of McCool, Miss., Jean Edith Horn of Kosciusko, Annie Bell Hall of Pelahatchie, Evelyn Bennett of Sallis and Nancy Cockroft of Carthage; and a granddaughter, Jessica Dement of Vicksburg.

Services will be at 3 p.m. Sunday at Breeland Funeral Home in Canton. Burial will follow at Canton Cemetery.

Visitation will be from 4 until 6 p.m. Saturday at Riles Funeral Home in Vicksburg and from 2 p.m. Sunday until the service at the funeral home in Canton.

Memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society.