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.

Abbie Lee Simpson Blue

Services for Abbie Lee Simpson “Big Mama” Blue will be at 11 a.m. Friday at Jackson Street M.B. Church with the Rev. John Carroll officiating. Burial will follow at Cedar Hill Cemetery under the direction of W.H. Jefferson Funeral Home.

Mrs. Blue died Friday, Aug. 26, 2005. She was 86.

Mrs. Blue was a homemaker and a member of Mount Zion M.B. Church No. 4, where she was part of the Willing Workers Club, the adult choir and the Mother Board.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Archie Blue Jr.; one son, Charles Blue; and her parents, Aaron and Martha Simpson.

Survivors include two sons, Claude Blue and Dean Blue, both of Vicksburg; five daughters, Mildred Scott of Bly, Ore., Willena Stewart of Sprague River, Ore., Bobbie Swafford of Chattanooga, Tenn., and Linda Johnson and Beverly Johnson, both of Vicksburg; two sisters, Willie Mae Thompson and Etta Jean Clark, both of Stockton, Calif.; 30 grandchildren; 46 great-grandchildren; and 12 great-great grandchildren.

Olive Dinkins Purviance

Services for Olive Dinkins Purviance will be at 11 a.m. Friday at Gibson Memorial United Methodist Church with the Rev. Ed Hightower officiating. Burial will follow at Green Acres Memorial Park under the direction of Fisher Funeral Home.

Visitation will be at the church Friday from 10 a.m. until the service.

Mrs. Purviance died Sunday, Aug. 28, 2005, at her home in Raymond. She was 77.

A native of Canton, Mrs. Purviance was the daughter of the late C.C. and Olive Beatrice Jones Dinkins. She was a graduate of Canton High School. She lived in Vicksburg for more than 44 years and had been a Raymond resident for the past four years.

One of the first women Realtors in Vicksburg, Mrs. Purviance worked for a number of years with P.L. Hennessey Realty. In the early 1970s, she developed Olive Purviance Realty, which she owned and operated until her death. She was named Realtor of the Year by her peers in the early 1980s and won numerous real estate awards.

She was past president and vice president of the Board of Realtors, as well as the Professional Ethics Committee for the Board of Realtors. She served as an independent Realtor for more than 25 years.

Mrs. Purviance was a member of Gibson Memorial United Methodist Church.

Survivors include three daughters, Nancy Purviance Neilsen of Edwards, Marilyn Purviance Johnson of Clinton and Meta Purviance “Mimi” Koestler of Murfreesboro, Tenn.; two sons, H.L. “Lang” Purviance Jr. of Port Gibson and Frank C. Purviance of Utica; a brother, Theo Dinkins of Madison; 15 grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; and other relatives.

Pallbearers will be Chris Purviance, Lum Purviance, Scott Burr, Pat Koestler, Chip Burr, Craig Millett, H.L. “Trip” Purviance III, Michael Millett, Ray Neilsen and Bradley Millett.

Honorary pallbearers will be Parker Stevenson, Dave Dinkins, Ted Dinkins, John Dinkins, Paul Barrett, Martin Pace, Jay McKenzie, William Shappley, S.C. Thomas, Mark McComb, Charles “Bo” Koestler and Steve Millett.

Memorials may be made to Gibson Memorial United Methodist Church, 335 Bowie Road, Vicksburg, MS 39183.

Merry Thompson

Merry Thompson died Monday, Aug. 29, 2005, at her home. She was 44.

Mrs. Thompson was a native of Rankin County and had been a resident of Warren County for the past nine years. She was employed with the Isle of Capri Casino in Vicksburg for nine years. She was of the Baptist faith.

Survivors include her husband, Michael Thompson of Vicksburg; one daughter, Ashley Thompson of Vicksburg; one son, Nick Thompson of Vicksburg; her mother, Helen Osbourne of Brandon; her stepmother, Lottie Shoemaker of Brandon; five sisters, Christine Hood, Sherry Roby and Shelia Osbourne, all of Brandon, Edna Quarles of Florence and Carolyn Dorsey of Atlanta; three brothers, Jerry Shoemaker of Leesburg, Michael Shoemaker of D’Lo and Sonny Westbrook of Brandon.

Services will be at 11 a.m. Friday at Ott and Lee Funeral Home in Brandon. Burial will follow at Dry Creek Cemetery in Florence.

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

Helen Massey White

TALLULAH – Helen Massey White died Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2005, at her home in Tallulah. She was 87.

Mrs. White was a lifelong resident of Tallulah. She retired as a bank vice president.

She was a member of First Baptist Church and the Eastern Star for more than 50 years.

She is survived by a son, Robert C. “Booger” Moore of Tallulah; three grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; and other relatives, including Curtis Lloyd of Ocean Springs and Hilda Massey of Tallulah.

Services will be at 10 a.m. Friday at Crothers-Glenwood Funeral Home with the Rev. John W. Rushing officiating. Burial will follow at Memorial Park Cemetery in Tallulah.

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

Pallbearers will be Lloyd W. Rogan Jr., Robert Wood, Robert S. “Stoney” Stone, Chip Walker, Steve Arnett and Michael Lancaster.

Honorary pallbearer will be Edgar H. Lancaster Jr.

Dr. Otis Alexander Williams Jr.

Dr. Otis Alexander Williams Jr. died Monday, Aug. 29, 2005, at his home. He was 42.

Mr. Williams was born in Woodville and attended Vicksburg Public Schools. He was a 1980 graduate of Vicksburg High School, where he was a member of the National Honor Society, Key Club and ROTC. He was a member of the community’s Civil Air Patrol.

He was a graduate of Mississippi State University and Meharry Medical College in Nashville.

He was preceded in death by his maternal grandparents, Severa Gaines and Louise Sims; and paternal grandparents, Alex and Louise Williams.

Survivors include his parents, Otis A. Williams Sr. and Odessa Gaines Williams, both of Vicksburg; and one sister, Opal Williams White of Duluth, Ga.

Dillon-Chisley Funeral Home has charge of arrangements.