Sam Henry Buchanan

RIDGELAND Sam Henry Buchanan, formerly of Vicksburg, died Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2004, at Baptist Hospital in Jackson. He was 88.

Born in Rankin County, Mr. Buchanan was a graduate of Pelahatchie High School and Clarke Business School. He had been employed with the Corps of Engineers, Vicksburg District, for 35 years. He was a member of Westminster Presbyterian Church and had served as an elder, deacon and Sunday school teacher. He was a resident of Ridgeland.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Lacy Elisha and Hattie Buchanan; four brothers, James Warren Buchanan, Bivian Clark Buchanan, David Graves Buchanan and Benjamin Hal Buchanan; and three sisters, Mary Celeste Buchanan, L.E. Stingley and Hattie Sue Allen.

Survivors include his wife of 56 years, Laura Alsworth Buchanan of Ridgeland; a son, Sam Henry Buchanan Jr. of Ripley; a daughter, Rebecca Buchanan Saenz of Madison; a brother, Edwin L. Buchanan of Huntsville, Ala.; a sister, Minnie B. Stephens of Magee; four granddaughters; 11 nephews; three nieces; and others.

Services will be at 10 a.m. Friday at Wright and Ferguson Funeral Home of Ridgeland. Burial will follow at Gulde Cemetery.

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

Memorials may be made to Westminster Presbyterian Church in Vicksburg.

Lee Ethel Claiborne

PORT GIBSON Lee Ethel Claiborne died Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2004, at her home in Port Gibson. She was 78.

Mrs. Claiborne retired as a teacher from the Claiborne County Schools. She was a member of St. Luke Christian Church in Pattison, where she was a Sunday school teacher and former church secretary. She was a member and past president of the Christian Women Fellowship and a member of the Baptist Aid and Christian Aid.

She is survived by two brothers, Elder T.E. Harris of Port Gibson and Nathan Harris of Jackson; three sisters, Ada Boyd and Emma Jones, both of Jackson, and Mae Harris of Port Gibson; four stepdaughters, Jerry Jean Claiborne of Chicago, Ethel B. Claiborne of Harvey, Ill., and Erma Jean Claiborne and Eula Claiborne, both of Hempstead, N.Y.; three stepsons, George Claiborne and Lee Ronia Claiborne, both of Chicago, and David Claiborne of New York City; and nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.

Services will be at 1 p.m. Saturday at St. Luke Christian Church with Elder T.E. Harris officiating. Burial will follow at the church cemetery under the direction of Thompson Funeral Home in Port Gibson.

Visitation will be from 1 until 5 p.m. Friday at the funeral home and from noon Saturday until the service at the church.

Frank Clark

Frank Clark died Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2004, at his home. He was 64.

A resident of Vicksburg, Mr. Clark retired after 30 years of service with the federal government in Washington, D.C. He was of the Baptist faith.

He was preceded in death by his father, James Clark; three brothers, James Clark Jr., Charlie Clark and Andrew Clark; and four sisters, Josephine Williams, Melissa Wince, Ann Swezzer and Bernice Jackson.

Survivors include his mother, Roxie Ana Franklin of Vicksburg; a brother, Ned J. Clark of Virginia; three sisters, Annie Mae Dawson of Brooklyn, N.Y., and Emma Culkin and Arnell Clark, both of Vicksburg; nieces and nephews; and other relatives and friends, including the Franklin and Lassiter families.

Services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at W.H. Jefferson Funeral Home with Ned J. Clark officiating. Burial will follow at Cedar Hill Cemetery.

Emma Straughter Durham

HERMANVILLE Emma Straughter Durham died Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2004, at her home in Hermanville. She was 90.

A former member of Freedman Hall M.B. Church, Mrs. Durham was a member and mother at Springfield Baptist Church.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Elijah and Hattie Straughter; her husband, Roosevelt Durham; a brother, Lemuel Straughter; and two sisters, Mary Hardy and Julia Durham.

She is survived by a daughter, Ruth “Ruby” Jefferson of Hermanville; two sons, Gary Durham of Hermanville and Otis Durham of Cerritos, Calif.; one sister, Laura Armstrong of Jackson; nine grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; and nieces, nephews, friends and other relatives, including Freddie and Sarah Graise of Hermanville.

Services will be at noon Saturday at Springfield Baptist Church in Copiah County with the Rev. C.P. Nelson officiating. Burial will follow at the church cemetery under the direction of Thompson Funeral Home in Port Gibson.

Visitation will be from 1 until 6 p.m. with family hour from 7 until 8:30 Friday at the funeral home and from 11 a.m. Saturday until the service at the church.

Norna A. Foster

Norna A. Foster died Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2004, at Covenant Health and Rehab. She was 91.

Born to Elvassie Irwin and F.W. Hancock of Yazoo City, Mrs. Foster was a resident of Vicksburg.

She was preceded in death by her husband, George E. Foster; a son, George Weldon Foster; a daughter, Margaret Ferguson; and three grandchildren.

Survivors include four daughters, Becky Rainer of Vicksburg, Sharon Ertle of Bentonia, Sally Hancock of Magee and Elaine Goode of Richland; four sons, Bobby Foster, Dongieux Foster and Hillary Foster, all of Bentonia, and Calvin Foster of Gulfport; two brothers, D.M. Hancock of Dickson, Tenn., and Vernie Hancock of Ocean Springs; 30 grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.

Services will be at 10 a.m. Friday at Hebron Baptist Church with the Revs. Kerry Burrough and Luke Edwards officiating. Burial will follow at Mount Olivet Cemetery under the direction of Strickland-King Funeral Home in Yazoo City.

Visitation will be from 5 until 7:30 tonight at the funeral home.

Pallbearers will be Wesley Foster, Curtis Foster, Clint Ertle, Lerone Goode, Sterling Foster, Shannon Davis and Ben Lewis.

Gertrude Kolb

Gertrude Kolb died Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2004, at Mountain Trace Nursing Center in Sylvia, N.C. She was 88.

Miss Kolb lived in Vicksburg most of her life and had been a resident of Sylvia for the past seven years. She was the daughter of the late Karl and Therese Kolb.

A graduate of St. Francis Xavier Academy, she was a member of the St. Francis-St. Aloysius Alumni Association. She was a communicant of St. Paul Catholic Church and a member of the Blessed Virgin Sodality.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by a brother, Dr. Charles Rudolph Kolb.

Survivors include a sister, Marguerite Kolb Nicholas of Sylvia; two brothers, John Kolb of Vicksburg and Brother Alfred Kolb of Bay St. Louis; and nieces and nephews.

Fisher Funeral Home has charge of memorial services.

Memorials may be made to Vicksburg Catholic School, 1900 Grove St., Vicksburg, MS 39183; the Southern Cultural Heritage Center, 1302 Adams St., Vicksburg, MS 39180; or the Brothers of the Sacred Heart Foundation, Elysian Fields Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70122.