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.

John J. Basley

Services for John J. Basley will be at 11 a.m. Friday at Cedar Hill Cemetery under the direction of Dillon-Chisley Funeral Home.

Mr. Basley died Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2007, at his home in Vicksburg. He was 76.

A retired taxi driver, he operated cabs in New York and Veteran’s Cab Company in Vicksburg. An Army veteran, he served in the Korean Conflict.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Doc and Willie Basley; and two sisters.

He is survived by two daughters, Irene Basley and Linda Green, both of Vicksburg; a sister, Mary Ragsdale of Vicksburg; six grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; and other relatives, including his caregiver, Irene Grady Basley Brown.

Dessie Lee Brown

UTICA – Dessie Lee Brown died Monday, Jan. 1, 2007, at her home in Utica. She was 64.

She was preceded in death by her husband, J.B. Brown; and a son, Robert Brown.

She is survived by a son, Michael Brown of Utica; and a daughter, Sharron Chambliss of Utica.

Services will be at 1 p.m. Saturday at Westhaven Memorial Funeral Home Chapel in Utica. Burial will follow at Strawbridge Church Cemetery. Visitation will be from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m. Friday at the funeral home.

Houston D. Champlin Sr.

WINNSBORO – Houston D. Champlin Sr. died Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2007, at St. Francis North Monroe Hospital. He was 82.

Born in New Era, La., Mr. Champlin was a resident of Winnsboro. He was a veteran of World War II and had worked as a district project engineer with the Department of Transportation. He was of the Baptist faith.

He was preceded in death by his father, Lonnie Champlin Sr.; his mother, Maudell Pecanty Champlin; a brother, Laures Champlin; and two sisters, Leola Hedricks and Irene Tiffee.

Survivors include his wife of 56 years, Betty Fatchett Champlin of Winnsboro; two daughters, Kathy Williamson of Winnsboro and Jeannine Beatty of Vicksburg; one son, Doyal Champlin of West Monroe; his brother, Lonnie Champlin Jr. of LaGrange, Tenn.; his sister, Addie Calkins of Monterey, La.; eight grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and nieces, nephews and other relatives.

Services will be at 1 p.m. Friday at Young’s Community Memorial Funeral Home in Winnsboro with the Revs. Leon Ward, Wayne Stroud, Gordon Finley and Lloyd Trisler officiating. Burial will follow at Eva Church of God Cemetery in Monterey.

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

Memorials may be made to Sardis Baptist Church or Eva Baptist Church.

Bessie M. Bush Flowers

BATON ROUGE – Bessie M. Bush Flowers died Monday, Jan. 8, 2007 in Baton Rouge, La. She was 77.

Born on March 27, 1929, in Anniston, Ala., she was the third child of George and Louise Bush. Bessie was a longtime member of Grove Street M.B. Church in Vicksburg.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband of 36 years, the Rev. Timothy Flowers, Sr.; and a sister, Mary Clayton.

She is survived by two sons, Timothy Flowers Jr. and his wife, Deborah, of Baton Rouge, and George Flowers of Houston; five daughters, Maggie Flowers of Vicksburg, Shirley Flowers of Memphis, Mary Holbert of Baton Rouge, Sylvia Flowers of Sioux City, Iowa, and Doris Porter of Spring, Texas.

She also leaves to mourn her passing one sister, Lucille Moore; 10 grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews and other relatives and friends.

A memorial service will be at 1 p.m. Friday at Richardson Funeral Home, 11816 Jackson St., Clinton, La., with the Rev. Bennie Veals officiating. Burial will follow at noon Saturday at Cedar Hill Cemetery in Vicksburg with the Rev. Casey Fisher officiating.

The family wishes to thank Albertha O’Conner, her faithful caregiver, Hospice of Baton Rouge, friends and neighbors for their concerns and prayers.

For those so desiring, memorials in honor of Bessie Flowers may be made to The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America, 322 Eighth Ave., 6th Floor, New York, NY 10001.

The Web site is www.alzfdn.org.

Percy Murphy

Services for Percy Murphy will be at 11 a.m. Friday at Word of Faith Christian Center with Reginald Walker officiating. Burial will follow at Cedar Hill Cemetery.

Visitation will be from 1 until 6 tonight at Williams Funeral Service.

Mr. Murphy died Thursday, Jan. 4, 2007, at River Region Medical Center. He was 69.

Mr. Murphy was a member of Calvary M.B. Church. He retired from Libby’s Manufacture-Assembly. He was a veteran of the Army.

He was preceded in death by his parents, George Murphy and Luvenia Shaw Murphy; and a sister, Mary Murphy Neal.

Survivors include his wife, Pearl McIntyre Murphy of Chicago; two daughters, Christal Murphy Rowan of Vicksburg and Adrienne Murphy Maphosa of Chicago; two brothers, Eddie Murphy of Milwaukee, Wis., and Johnny Murphy of California; four sisters, Martha Rhodes of Memphis, Lillie Ruth Walls of California, Elizabeth Benson of Atlanta and Georgia Carter of Georgia; four grandchildren; and other relatives and friends.

Dorothy Jean Ross

UTICA – Dorothy Jean Ross died Thursday, Jan. 4, 2007, at her home in Utica. She was 45.

She was preceded in death by her father, Carson Ross Sr.; two brothers, Carson Ross Jr. and Carl Ross; and a sister, Betty Andrews.

She is survived by three sons, Jeremy Strong, Jamal Strong and James Polk Jr., all of Utica; her mother, Glin Ross of Utica; a brother, Cedric Wilks of Vicksburg; a sister, Joyce Ross of Clinton; and a niece she reared, Brianna Andrews of Utica.

Services will be at noon Saturday at Belmount M.B. Church. Burial will follow at Rohelia Church Cemetery in Utica. Visitation will be from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m. Friday at Westhaven Memorial Funeral Home Chapel in Utica.

Pastor Maxwell Tyler Sr.

Services for Pastor Maxwell Tyler Sr. will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Vicksburg Family Life Cathedral Church. Burial will follow at Cedar Hill Cemetery. Visitation will be from noon until 3 p.m. Friday at Lakeview Funeral Home. Family hour will be from 4 until 7 p.m. Friday at the church.

Pastor Tyler died Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2007, at St. Dominic-Jackson Memorial Hospital. He was 63.

A lifelong resident of Vicksburg, he was co-founder of Vicksburg Family Life Cathedral Church and a retired employee of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He was a 1961 graduate of Rosa A. Temple High School and 1965 graduate of Mississippi Valley State University.

He was preceded in death by his mother, Alma Rhodes Tyler; one sister, Lelia Setella Sanders; and one brother, Willard Tyler Jr.

He is survived by his wife and co-pastor, Betty Young Tyler of Vicksburg; two daughters, Betty Carson Tyler of Vicksburg and Alma Tyler Reed of Cypress, Texas; one son, Maxwell Tyler Jr. of Indianapolis, Ind.; his parents, Willard Sr. and Saltine Tyler, both of Vicksburg; three sisters, Wilbur Tyler Clay and Charlotte Tyler Price, both of Vicksburg, and Dr. Deidre Tyler of Salt Lake City, Utah; and a number of grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and other relatives, including members of the Price, Young and Harris families.

Pallbearers will be Maxwell Tyler Jr., Willis Reed, Charles Carson, Adam Carson, George Young Jr. and John Clay.

Honorary pallbearers will be the Wednesday Morning Pastor’s Prayer Breakfast Group, Michael Sims, Larry Walker and David Cox.