Barbara Francis Banks

Services for Barbara Francis Banks will be at 1 p.m. Wednesday at Bethel A.M.E Church with the Rev. Robert S. Boyd officiating. Burial will follow at Cedar Hill Cemetery.

Visitation will be from 6 until 8 this evening at the funeral home and from noon Wednesday until the service at the church.

Mrs. Banks died Friday, March 18, 2005, at Covenant Health Care. She was 78.

Mrs. Banks was a retired teacher with the Vicksburg Public Schools. She was a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, the National Teachers Association, Mississippi Teachers Association and Rowan Friendship Club.

She was a member of Bethel A.M.E. Church.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Frank and Charlotte Weir; three brothers, James Weir, Frank L. Weir and Willie B. Weir; a sister, Charlotte Weir; and a grandson, Trawick Winn.

She is survived by two sons, Preston Banks Jr., and Leonard M. Banks, both of Vicksburg; a daughter, Ella Bessie Banks Jones of Pittsburgh, Pa.; six grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren; and nieces, nephews and other relatives, including Barbara Harris of Vicksburg.

Audell G. Pinkston

LAKE PROVIDENCE – Audell G. Pinkston died Sunday, March 20, 2005, at West Carroll Memorial Hospital in Oak Grove. She was 87.

Mrs. Pinkston was born in Lake Providence to the late Archie and Bertha Brown McWilliams.

She is survived by a son, Tom Reece Hutson of West Monroe; a daughter, Earline Hutson Martin of Lake Providence; one brother, Louie McWilliams; three sisters, Maple McWilliams, Alice McWilliams Marak and Louise McWilliams Stephens; and seven grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren.

Services will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday at First Baptist Church of Lake Providence with Dr. James Parker and the Rev. Wayne Young officiating. Burial will follow at Lake Providence City Cemetery.

Visitation will be from 6 until 9 tonight at Cox Funeral Home in Lake Providence.

Pallbearers will be Tom Hutson Jr., Phillip Hutson, Gary Harper, Jerry Harper Jr., Dennis Hughes and Phillip Schroeder.

Rev. Chester A. Ross Sr.

The Rev. Chester A. Ross Sr. died Friday, March 18, 2005, at River Region Medical Center. He was 75.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Willie Ross Sr. and Caldonia Ross; nine brothers, Benton Ross, Clinton Ross, Cornelius Ross, Jessie Ross, John Henry Ross, Lieutenant Ross, Prentiss Ross, Sam Ross and Willie Ross Jr.; and three sisters, Beatrice Ross Young, Cariola Ross Williams and Josephine Ross Mayfield.

He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Robertstean Ross; five sons, Chester Ross Jr., Spencer L. Ross, Joe R. Ross, Eddie L. Ross and Kenny B. Ross, all of Vicksburg; 13 grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; one great-great-grandchild; and nieces, nephews and other relatives.

Lakeview Memorial Funeral Home has charge of arrange-ments.

Robert Tinsley

WEST MONROE – Graveside services for Robert “Bobby” Tinsley, 76, of West Monroe, will be held today at the Flora Cemetery in Flora, Miss., with Cdr. Artis M. Davis officiating. Arrangements are under the direction of Kilpatrick Funeral Home in West Monroe.

Mr. Tinsley was born on July 26, 1928, in Hamilton, Miss., and passed away on Sunday, March 20, 2005, in West Monroe following a lengthy illness.

Mr. Tinsley was reared in Utica before moving to the West Monroe area. He was a veteran of the United States Army, having served during the Korean Conflict. He retired from Illinois Central with over 42 years of service as a dispatcher. He was also a member of the Good Hope Baptist Church in West Monroe, the local chapter of the VFW, the NRA, and a 32nd degree Master Mason and Shriner for many years.

He is survived by his wife, Edwina Smith Tinsley of West Monroe; a brother, Fay B. Tinsley of Utica; five nephews who will serve as pallbearers; four nieces, Cala Davis, Jackie Haden, Michelle Hegberg and Katrina Naora; numerous great-nieces and great-nephews.

Pallbearers will be his nephews: Mike Tinsley, Joe Tinsley, David Tinsley, Jim Tinsley, Tommy Tinsley and Victor Hadden.

Visitation was from 5 until 7 p.m. Monday at Kilpatrick’s in West Monroe.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the American Heart Association.