Emma Flautt Crisler

Published 1:27 pm Wednesday, May 7, 2025

Emma Flautt Crisler, editor and publisher of the Port Gibson Reveille, died Friday, May 2, 2025, at UMMC, from a fall after “putting the paper to bed” for the weekly edition. She was 86. While Emma worked full-time in her own career and raised her daughter, she also assisted her husband Edgar every Wednesday, often late into the night, completing the paper for publication on Thursday. When Edgar died in 1997, Emma retired, intending to steer the Reveille until the 100th anniversary of the paper being in the Crisler family in 1998. After she reached this initial goal, Emma’s dedication to the importance of a free press in a democratic society inspired her to continue for 27 more years.

Emma loved history and had an extraordinary memory for dates and stories. She was a member of the Pathfinder Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and held numerous offices in the local chapter and at the state level. She was also a member of  the Colonial Dames and served on the Port Gibson Heritage Trust. Both the work and the friendships she shared through these organizations meant the world to her.

Emma was born March 1, 1939, in Memphis to William and Mary Flautt and grew up in Tutwiler, Mississippi. She attended West Tallahatchie High School and participated in band and Girls’ State. She attended Marymount College in St. Louis her freshman year and graduated from the University of Mississippi in 1961 with a degree in english and a minor in journalism. At Ole Miss, Emma was a member of the Delta Delta Delta sorority. After graduating, she taught at McComb High School and also at Cooper High School in Vicksburg. She met Edgar Crisler Jr. through her sister, Panny Mayfield, and they were married in September of 1969. They settled in Port Gibson, and she taught briefly at Claiborne Educational Foundation.

Emma began a master’s degree at Mississippi College before being interrupted by the birth of her daughter. She never liked to leave things unfinished, and with the steadfast help of Edgar driving her back and forth on the Natchez Trace, she completed her master’s degree in english.

When she returned to work soon after, she became an eligibility worker at the Welfare Department and soon thereafter a social worker, and she was dedicated to this work for over 20 years until she took over at the Reveille.

Outside of her professions, Emma was a devoted member of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church where she taught Sunday school for many years and was an integral part of the church community.

Emma often joked about not having hobbies, but her rich life was full of family, church, and community.

Emma was preceded in death by her parents, Willam and Mary Flautt; her brother, William F. Flautt Jr.; and her husband, Edgar Crisler Jr.

She is survived by her daughter, Sarah Crisler-Ruskey; her granddaughter, Emma Crisler-Ruskey; her sister, Panny Mayfield; and her nieces, nephews, and great-nieces and great-nephews. She also leaves behind her cherished longtime co-workers, Margie Bufkin and Janice Carter.

Visitation was held at the family home at 1 p.m. Wednesday, May 7, and services at 2 p.m. at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, with burial to follow at Wintergreen Cemetery.

Memorials may be made to St. Joseph’s Catholic Church or the Harriet Pearson Memorial Library.