July 28, 2005

Published 12:00 am Thursday, July 28, 2005

The Vicksburg Post prints obituaries in news form for area residents, their family members and for former residents at no charge. Families wishing to publish additional information or to use specific wording have the option of a paid obituary.

Willie Brown

Willie Brown died Monday, July 25, 2005, at Promise Specialty Hospital. He was 77.

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Mr. Brown was a veteran of World War II, serving in the Army. He was of the Baptist faith.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Sammiestine W. Brown; a son, Willie Henry Smith; and his parents, Henry and Mamie Brown.

Survivors include two sons, Claude Smith of Jackson and Don Smith of Vicksburg; one daughter, Vera Patterson of Vicksburg; seven grandchildren; 11 great-grandchildren; and nieces, nephews, cousins and other relatives.

Services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Cool Spring M.B. Church with the Rev. Byron Maxwell officiating. Burial will follow at Cedar Hill Cemetery under the direction of W.H. Jefferson Funeral Home.

Willie Mae Lewis Daniel

Services for Willie Mae Lewis Daniel will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at W.H. Jefferson Funeral Home. Burial will follow at Cedar Hill Cemetery.

Mrs. Daniel died Friday, July 22, 2005, at Vicksburg Convalescent Home. She was 79.

Born in Fitler, Mrs. Daniel was a homemaker. She was of the Baptist faith.

She was preceded in death by her husband, James Daniel Sr.; a daughter, Gloria Jean Daniel; one brother, Porter Lewis Jr.; one sister, Leona Howard; and her parents, Porter Lewis Sr. and Adonia Jordan Lewis.

Survivors include a son, James Daniel Jr. of Vicksburg; three sisters, Ollie Mae Hudson of Greenville, Ida Mae Barnum of Onward and Jessie Mae Green of Rolling Fork; and grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews.

Edward Henry John Grau

GREENVILLE – Edward Henry John Grau died Tuesday, July 26, 2005, at King’s Daughters Hospital in Greenville. He was 94.

He was preceded in death by his wife of 58 years, Norma Enke Grau.

Mr. Grau was the son of Herman and Clara Nolle Grau. He was born Dec. 20, 1910, in St. Charles, Mo. , and had lived in Greenville since 1942. After graduating from Iowa State in 1933 with a degree in Forestry, he worked as a senior forester with Civilian Conservation Corp. in Oskaloosa, Iowa, until 1935. When the CCC was abandoned, he moved to Burlington, Iowa to work with the Burlington Land and Timber Company. Mr. Grau was employed as a forester with the U.S. Gypsum Company in Greenville from 1942 until his retirement in 1975. He was a founding and faithful member of Faith Lutheran Church and was an avid follower of all Mississippi State University sports.

Survivors include two sons, Robert (Paula) Grau and Richard (Tina) Grau, all of Vicksburg; one daughter, Kathy (Tut) Touchstone of Vincent, Ala.; one brother, Martin (Leona) Grau of Alta Vista, Va.; eight grandchildren, Rick (Melissa) Grau, Wendy (Ed) Fletcher, Jennifer (Jamie) Patterson, Jody (Nathan) Orrison, Green Touchstone, Jesse Touchstone, Adam Dykes and Brian (Wendy) Dykes; and three great-grandchildren, Richard Grau, Jackson Dykes and Audrey Fletcher.

Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, July 30, 2005, at Boone-Wells Funeral Home in Greenville. Burial will follow at Greenlawn Memorial Gardens in Greenville. The family will receive friends from 5 until 7 p.m. Friday at Boone-Wells Funeral Home.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Faith Lutheran Church, P.O. Box 5038, Greenville, MS 38704-5038.

Mary Jane Hall

JACKSON – Mary Jane Hall died Tuesday, July 26, 2005, at Hospice Ministries in Jackson. She was 84.

Ms. Hall was a long-time resident of Jackson. She retired from the Hinds County Extension Service. She was a member of Fairview Garden Club, past-president of Jackson Council of Garden Clubs, Mississippi 4-H All Stars and Jackson Philatalic Club. She was a member of First Presbyterian Church in Jackson, where she taught in the five-year old department.

Survivors include one brother, Eugene Hall of Vicksburg; four nephews, Dan Wood Hall and James Arthur Hall, both of Vicksburg, Todd Hall of Clinton and William Hall of Ferriday; and other great-nieces, nephews and relatives.

Services will be at 9:30 a.m. Saturday at Wright and Ferguson Funeral Home in Jackson. Burial will follow at 11:30 a.m. at Green Acres Memorial Park in Vicksburg.

Visitation will be from 5 until 7 p.m. Friday and from 8:30 a.m. Saturday until the hour of service at the funeral home.

Memorials may be made to Reformed Theological seminary, French Camp Academy, Palmer Home for Children, Mississippi 4-H All Stars or the Mary Jane Hall Scholarship Fund at Mississippi State University.

James E. Mays

James E. Mays died Tuesday, July 26, 2005, at West Carroll Memorial Hospital in Oak Grove. He was 77.

Born in Vicksburg to Hubert and Edith Mays, he retired in 1990 from the Vicksburg District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He was a member of Mount Olive M.B. Church.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a sister, Josephine Porter.

He is survived by his wife, Alberta Mays of Vicksburg; two sons, Malcolm Richards and Elthon Mays of Vicksburg; three daughters, Jacinta Mays of Washington, D.C., Evelyn Toussaint of Los Angeles and Vicki Malcolm of Dallas; one brother, Robert Hampton of Chicago; one sister, Irene Miller of Vicksburg; four grandchildren; and nieces, nephews and other relatives, including members of the Knox and Cary families of Vicksburg.

Services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Mount Olive M.B. Church on Baldwin Ferry Road with the Rev. Leon Nelson officiating. Burial will follow at Cedar Hill Cemetery.

Visitation will be from 1 until 6 p.m. Friday at Dillon-Chisley Funeral Home and at the church Saturday from 10 a.m. until the service.

Jamie Rae Greer Welch

JACKSON – Jamie Rae Greer Welch died Tuesday, July 26, 2005, at Central Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. She was 41.

Mrs. Welch was a native of Carlisle and was a resident of Jackson. She was a former employee of the Vicksburg Warren School District, working as a bus driver.

She volunteered with the Salvation Army in Jackson and was a member of Center of Hope Church of Jackson.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Ray and Mary Greer.

She is survived by Willie Sims of Jackson; one daughter, Mandy Welch of Carlisle; a brother, Keith Hunt of Vicksburg; three sisters, Dena Byrnes of Carlisle, Lois Greer of Vicksburg and Tonya Greer of Pearl; her maternal grandmother, Lawson Simpson of Monroe; and nieces, nephews and cousins.

Services will be at 11 a.m. Friday at Glenwood Funeral Home in Port Gibson. Burial will follow at Greer Cemetery in Carlisle.

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

Pallbearers will be Mark Greer, Steven Greer, Thad Greer, Herschel Byrnes, William Greer, Russell Greer, Mike Greer, Everette Greer, Ronald Brown and Mike Brogdon.

Honorary pallbearers will be doctors and nurses of Central Mississippi Medical Center, members of the Jackson-area Salvation Army and Billy Byrnes.