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.

Elijah Claiborne.

PORT GIBSON – Elijah Claiborne died Sunday, Jan. 29, 2006, at Claiborne County Nursing Center. He was 98.

Survivors include two sons, Leon Claiborne Sr. of Waukegan, Ill., and Leroy D. Claiborne of Mundeland, Ill.; one daughter, Gertrude Claiborne of Vicksburg; 16 grandchildren; great-grandchildren; and other relatives.

Services will be at 1 p.m. Saturday at Forrest Grove Christian Church in Pattison with the Rev. Columbus Felton officiating. Burial will follow at the church cemetery under the direction of Thompson Funeral Home Inc. in Port Gibson.

Visitation will be from 1 until 5 p.m. at the funeral home chapel and with family hour from noon Saturday until the hour of service at the church.

Mattie E. Trull Copes.

Funeral services for Mrs. Mattie E. Trull Copes, 98, of Vicksburg, formerly of Delhi, La., will be held at 2 p.m. Friday in the chapel of Cox Funeral Home of Delhi. Dr. Marcus Murphy will officiate.

The family will receive friends from 1 p.m. Friday until the time of services.

Burial will be at the Delhi Masonic Cemetery under the direction of Cox Funeral Home.

Mrs. Copes died Sunday at Vicksburg Convalescent Home.

She was a member of the First Baptist Church of Delhi and the Lee Emmett Thomas Chapter of the Order of Eastern Star.

She was preceded in death by her parents, John Wilson Trull and Minnie Lee Lockhart Trull; her husband, Ben G. Copes; daughter, Lorraine Copes Nappier; granddaughter, Trissie Copes Pickett; and two sisters, Mabel T. Wactor and Nell T. Fryer.

She is survived by two sons, Lonnie Copes and wife, De-Ette, of Delhi and Benjamin Gerald Copes and wife, Evelyn, of Tioga, N.D.; grandson, Keith Nappier of Houston, Texas; six granddaughters, Cathy Hall and Cheryl N. Cooke of Vicksburg, Nancy E. Eder of Williston, N.D., Debbie Copes Thompson of Sulphur, La., Lynn C. Hazard of Daphne, Ala., and Carolyn C. Berge of Larimore, N.D.; 18 great-grandchildren; and two great-great-grandchildren.

Pallbearers will be Adam Pickett, Bradley Hall, Brian Hall, Mike Cooke, Dan Hall and Howard Gene Caviness.

To leave a message of condolence to the family, please visit www.coxfuneral.com.

Williona Washington James.

Services for Williona Washington James will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Travelers Rest Baptist Church with the Rev. Thomas E. Bernard officiating. Burial will follow at Cedar Hill Cemetery.

Visitation will be from noon until 7 p.m. Friday at Lakeview Memorial Funeral Home with family present from 6 until 7.

Mrs. James died Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2006, at River Region Medical Center. She was 72.

A Vicksburg native, Mrs. James was the daughter of William &#8220Bill” and Melissa Wilson Washington. She was a member of Travelers Rest Baptist Church and a former member of Clover Valley Baptist Church. She retired as a custodian from the Mississippi River Commission.

Mrs. James was preceded in death by three sisters, Rosie L. Turner, Idella Gee Harper and Sophia Washington; and a stepson, Jessie James.

She is survived by her husband of 55 years, John L. James Sr. of Vicksburg; three sons, Melvin L. James of Augusta, Ga., Willie L. James of Vicksburg and John L. James Jr. of Birmingham, Ala.; five daughters, Barbara J. Newsome of Augusta and Christine W. Doss, Thelma L. Washington, Gloria M. James and Jacqueline A. &#8220Jackie” James, all of Vicksburg; two stepdaughters, Betty Tucker of Pawtucket, R.I., and Louise James of Texas; two sisters, Katie Mae Robinson of Vicksburg and Viola Neal of Utica; 13 grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; and nieces, nephews, friends and other relatives, including members of the Robinson, McGriggs, Martin, Wilson, McGowan, Washington, Prentiss, Anderson, Reynolds, Gaskin, Bernard, Burns and Burks families.

Roel Bertrand Nabors.

DECATUR, Ala. – Roel Bertrand Nabors of Decatur, Ala., died Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2006, at Baptist Memorial Hospital-DeSoto in Southaven, Miss. He was 74.

Services will be held at Rosebloom Mississippi Church of the Nazarene at 10 a.m. Friday, Feb. 3, 2006, with the Rev. Gary Tatum officiating. Burial will follow Saturday, Feb. 4, 2006, at East Lawrence Memorial Gardens in Moulton, Ala. Visitation will be from 5 until 7 this evening at Garner-Harper Funeral Home and an hour prior of service at the church on Saturday.

Mr. Nabors was born in a farmhouse outside of Cleveland, Miss., on October 4, 1931, a child of the Rev. N.O. Nabors and Lillie Ward Nabors. Mr. Nabors attended Cascilla High School, graduated from Trevecca Nazarene High School and Trevecca University in Nashville, Tenn., where he received a degree in Religion. He was an ordained elder, pastoring Nazarene Churches in Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee. He also served as an evangelist in the Southeastern United States. For the last 20 years he owned and operated an independent insurance brokerage firm. He was a very active philanthropist, providing generously and anonymously much of his time and resources. He had many hobbies including being an outdoorsman, singing, wildlife photography and hunting.

Survivors include children, Jonathan Nabors and wife Angelia, Sherwyn Nabors and wife Kaye, all of Nashville, Tenn., Melissa Guthrie and husband Brad, both of Bradenton, Fla., Melinda Davenport and husband Brad, both of Allentown, Pa., Jeremy Nabors and wife Tonya, both of Decatur, Rogen Nabors and wife, Ramie, both of Lakeland, Fla., Lisa Nabors of Sneads, Fla., Laurie Nabors of Decatur, Ala.; two brothers, Cecil Roy Nabors of Oxford, Miss., and Travis Nabors of Memphis, Tenn.; one sister, Mavis Mitchell of Scobey, Miss.; a host of nieces and nephews and former wives Jeanne Stone Nabors and Shirley Kuyrkendall Nabors.

In honor of Mr. Nabors’ life, memorial contributions may be made to the Rosebloom Church of the Nazarene, Cascilla Road Charleston, Miss. 38921.

Pallbearers will be Jonathan Nabors, Sherwyn Nabors, Jeremy Nabors, Rogen Nabors, Barclay Mitchell and Clarence Tapley.