Madison County, Alabama Obituary Collection 1998-1999 (From Various Funeral Homes)
Covering the towns of Big Cove, Brownsboro, Gurley, Hampton Cove, Harvest, Hazel Green,
Huntsville, Madison, Meridianville, New Hope, New Market, Normal, Owens Cross Roads,
Ryland, Toney, and Triana. Also many obits from nearby Athens (Limestone County).
Some of the funeral homes represented: Royal Funeral Home, Spry Funeral Home,
Valhalla Funeral Home, Laughlin Service Funeral Home, and Twickenham Funeral Home.
Note: These obituaries are NOT primary source. They are intended only to provide clues in
researching your family tree. Use the date at the top of each group of obituaries to determine
the date of death since this collection does not include specific dates, only the day of the week
that the death occurred. Use the handy 1998 or 1999 calendars to determine dates.
Frank Berry Jr.
GURLEY - Retired Master Sgt. Frank Berry Jr., 69, died Monday at a local hospital. The funeral will be Wednesday at 2 p.m. at Valhalla Funeral Home with the Rev. Dwayne Martin officiating.
Burial will be in Maple Hill Cemetery.
Mr. Berry was a Vietnam War Air Force veteran and a member of Northside Baptist Church, the Eagles, American Legion and VFW Nos. 40 and 8.
Survivors include his wife, Shirley Berry of Gurley; three daughters, Faye Kolbus and Barbara Selby, both of Huntsville, and Joyce Richards of Toney; one son, Roger Berry; two stepdaughters, Linda Selby of Huntsville and Glenda Cooper of Pulaski, Tenn.; two stepsons, Charles "Porky" Martin of New Hope and Ronald Martin of Gurley; two sisters, Louise Johnson of Huntsville and Bobbie Jean Phillips of Hazel Green ; three brothers, Alvie Berry and Earl Berry, both of Huntsville, and William Berry of South Carolina; and 15 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be today from 5 to 9 p.m. at the funeral home.
Dorothy A. Brown
BURLINGAME, Calif. - Dorothy A. Brown, 90, died Jan. 21 at her home. A memorial service was Jan. 27 at Crosby N. Gray Funeral Home in Burlingame with the Rev. Daniel Nascimento officiating.
Mrs. Brown lived in Burlingame 65 years.
Survivors include three sons, Mikhail J. Brown of Huntsville, Robert L. Brown of Berkeley, Calif., and Dennis R. Brown of Hayward, Calif.; one daughter, Mary Lou Reynolds of Santa Monica, Calif.; and seven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Pansy S. Busey
Pansy Shelton Busey, 86, of Huntsville died Monday at a local nursing home. The funeral will be Thursday at 11 a.m. at Spry Funeral Home chapel with the Rev. Sonny Kirk officiating.
Mrs. Busey was a native of Jackson County, but spent most her life in Madison County.
Survivors include three daughters, Stella Spray and Doris McMeans, both of Huntsville, and Marie Gipson of Hialeah, Fla.; three brothers, Howard Shelton, Floyd Shelton and Thomas Shelton, all of Huntsville; and eight grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be Wednesday from 5 to 9 p.m. at the funeral home.
Edwin L. Clark
ALBERTVILLE - Edwin Lee Clark, 89, of 612 Baltimore Ave. died Sunday at his home. The funeral was to be today at 2 p.m. at Adams Funeral Home in Albertville.
Burial was to be in Marshall Memorial Garden.
Survivors include one daughter, Ramona Sue Smith of Montgomery; two sons, Morris L. Clark of Deatsville and Robert L. Clark of Florida; and four grandchildren, six great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren.
Warren J. Forsythe
ATHENS - Warren Jack Forsythe, 77, of Flannagan Road died Sunday at a Huntsville hospital. The funeral was to be today at 2 p.m. at Spry Funeral Home in Athens with Buford Parker officiating.
Burial was to be in Lentsville Cemetery.
Mr. Forsythe was a native of Giles County, Tenn., and was retired from Arvins Control Products in Pulaski.
Survivors include his wife, Marie Forsythe; one daughter, Judy Bullard of Athens; two sons, Garry Forsythe of Athens and Wayne Forsythe of Elkmont; and four grandchildren, five great-grandchildren and nieces and nephews.
Joseph W. Gilbert
TENBROECK - Joseph Wesley Gilbert, 71, died Sunday at a DeKalb County hospital. The funeral was Monday at W.T. Wilson Funeral Home chapel with the Rev. Randall Lyles and the Rev. Don Self officiating.
Burial was in Mount Pleasant Cemetery.
Mr. Gilbert was a native of DeKalb County, a retired business owner and a member of Tenbroeck Baptist Church.
Survivors include his wife, Grace Stephens Gilbert of Tenbroeck; three sons, Mickey Dean Gilbert of Tenbroeck, Wesley Charles Gilbert of Dawson and Gary Wayne Gilbert of Albertville; his mother, Vesta Gilbert of Tenbroeck; one brother, Fred Gilbert of Tenbroeck; and 10 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Stanley Hammon
EAST RIDGE, Tenn. - Stanley Hammon, 58, died Monday at his home. The funeral will be Wednesday at 2 p.m. at the Fairfield Missionary Baptist Church in Hollywood, Ala., with the Rev. Kelton Williams and the Rev. Wallace Sumner officiating.
Burial will be in Pinehaven Memorial Gardens in Hollywood with Heritage Funeral Home in Chattanooga in charge.
Mr. Hammon, a native of Jackson County, was a field service representative for Wang Laboratories. He was a member of the Fairfield Missionary Baptist Church, and he attended the Calvary Baptist Church in Red Bank, Tenn.
Survivors include his wife, Verna Wilborn Hammon; two sons, Michael Hammon and Burt Hammon, both of East Ridge; his parents, Albert and Millie Hammon of Scottsboro; four sisters, Millie Shelton and Kathy Moore, both of Scottsboro, Janet Prichett of Hollywood and Linda Baty of Huntsville; and five brothers, Ronald Hammon, David Hammon, Bobby Hammon and Miles Hammon, all of Scottsboro, and Jerry Hammon of Section.
Memorial donations may be made to Hospice of Chattanooga, 165 Hamm Road, Chattanooga, Tenn., 37415; Fairfield Missionary Baptist Church, 231 County Road No. 34, Hollywood, Ala., 35752, or Calvary Baptist Church, 5201 Dayton Blvd., Chattanooga, Tenn., 37415.
Visitation will today from 4 to 9 p.m. at the funeral home.
Wayne B. Hicklen Sr.
ARDMORE, Ala. - Wayne B. Hicklen Sr., 64, of 28601 Bethel Road died today at a local hospital. Limestone Chapel Funeral home will announce funeral arrangements.
Billy G. Hutcheson
Billy Glen Hutcheson, 76, died Thursday at a local hospital. The funeral was Sunday at Evans Funeral Home in Florala, Ala., with Jerry Hutcheson and Buddy Gillman officiating.
Burial was in Clear Springs Cemetery.
Mr. Hutcheson was a native of Red Level and a disabled veteran. He ran a television sales and service store in Florala until 1961 and was a missile technician for the Army in Germany and in Huntsville, where he retired in 1973. He was also a Mason. He was preceded in death by one daughter, Carolyn Hutcheson.
Survivors include his wife, Voncile Ballard Hutcheson of Huntsville; one son, Terry Glen Hutcheson of Mentone; one daughter Karen Gail Hutcheson Blankenship of Hazel Green ; one brother, Allison Hutcheson of Dothan; and four grandchildren.
Dorothy L. Knezovich
ARAB - Dorothy L. Knezovich, 78, died Friday. A memorial service will be Feb. 28 at 3 p.m. at First Methodist Church in Arab.
She was a native of Chicago and a member of First Methodist Church.
Survivors include her husband, Dr. Francis Knezovich of Arab; one son, Michael Meyer of Huntsville; one daughter, Jill Cannon of Union Hill; two sisters, Yvonne Cillis of Roswell, N.M., and Joanna Bartlett of Albuquerque, N.M.; and one grandson.
Memorial donations may be made to the First Methodist Church building fund in Arab.
Eltar McClendon
GROVE OAK - Eltar McClendon, 80, died Saturday at a Crossville hospital. The funeral was Monday at W.T. Wilson Funeral Home chapel with the Rev. Billy Garner officiating.
Burial was in Mount Pleasant Cemetery.
Survivors include one brother, E.R. Schrimsher of Huntsville; and several nieces and nephews of Arab and Guntersville.
Juanita Snyder
NASHVILLE - Juanita Margaret Rosson Snyder, 77, died Saturday. The funeral will be Thursday at 10:30 a.m. at St. Anns Catholic Church with the Rev. Joseph Culotta officiating. A graveside service will be Thursday at noon at Roselawn Cemetery.
Ridouts-Brown-Service Funeral Home in Decatur is in charge of burial.
Survivors include two daughters, Margaret Morgan of Nashville and Janet Henderson of Somerville; one brother, William D. Rosson of Citrus Heights, Calif.; and four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
James W. Stewart
GUNTERSVILLE - James W. ''Gee Stewart, 69, of 350 Pierce Circle died Sunday at a local hospital. The funeral will be Wednesday at 1 p.m. at Guntersville Memorial Chapel Funeral Home.
Burial will be in Brookshire Cemetery.
Survivors include his wife, Edith L. Stewart; four daughters, Rita Stewart and Gail Dalton, both of Tennessee, and Barbara Hosch and Gaynell Poyuter, both of Guntersville; two sons, Michael Stewart of Tennessee and Mitchell G.Stewart of Guntersville; three sisters, Helen Dehart of Albertville, Ann Hughes of Guntersville and Milread Clayton of Virginia; three brothers, Jerry Stewart of Morgan City and Wayne Stewart and Carl J. Hancock, both of Guntersville; and seven grandchildren.
Buford M. Stinnett
Buford M. Stinnett, 85, of Huntsville died Monday at a local hospital. The funeral will be Wednesday at 1 p.m. at Spry Funeral Home chapel with the Rev. Shelby Gurley and the Rev. Melvin Harper officiating.
Burial will be in Maple Hill Cemetery.
Mr. Stinnett was a native of Franklin County, Tenn., but spent most his life in Madison County. He was a retired textile worker and a member of Northside Baptist Church.
Survivors include his wife, Ruby J. Stinnett of Huntsville; one daughter, Linda Jean Brazier of Huntsville; two sons, Buford Randall Stinnett and Gerald Don Stinnett, both of Huntsville; and eight grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.
Visitation will be today from 5 to 8 p.m. at the funeral home.
Dame Iris Murdoch
LONDON - Dame Iris Murdoch, whose macabre yet comic sensibility made her one of Britains most admired modern novelists, died Monday at Vale House in Oxford. She was 79 and had Alzheimers disease.
Philosophical speculation, religion, magic and metaphysics run through many of Ms. Murdochs 26 novels. One of her most famous - "A Severed Head," published in 1961 - was a black farce about infidelity, incest and violence.
Before beginning to teach at Oxford, she spent a year at Cambridge studying with disciples of the Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein.
Her first book was nonfiction - "Sartre: Romantic Rationalist" in 1953 - and she wrote on philosophy throughout her career. "Existentialists and Mystics," a collection of her essays and articles, was published in 1997.
Ms. Murdochs first published novel was "Under the Net" in 1954, and it won immediate praise.
One of her most admired novels was 1973s "The Black Prince," about a middle-aged would-be writer and his professional rivals young daughter. It won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize.
In 1978, "The Sea, The Sea," about a retired film director trying to win back his first love, won the Booker Prize, widely considered Britains highest literary honor.
In 1987, she was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, the equivalent of a knighthood for women.
Her husband, John Bayley, an academic, critic and writer, documented her life and the progression of her disease in "Elegy for Iris," published last year.
Her last novel, "Jacksons Dilemma," was published in 1995.
