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.
Mary L. Bellomy
SCOTTSBORO - Mary Lou Bellomy, 75, died Wednesday at a local hospital. The funeral will be Friday at 11 a.m. at Rudder Funeral Home with the Rev. J.D. Golden officiating.
Burial will be in Cedar Hill Cemetery in Scottsboro.
Survivors include one daughter, Elaine Copenhaver of Scottsboro; one son, Philip Bellomy of Hollywood; five sisters, Wilma George and Reva Holt, both of Scottsboro, Mildred Bryant of Atlanta, Mavia Miller of Fayetteville, Tenn., and Vada Pickett of Scottsboro; two brothers, Newtie Lusk of Dalton, Ga., and W.H. Lusk of Scottsboro; and three grandchildren.
Lois B. Burke
OWENS CROSS ROADS - Lois Blackburn Burke, 84, died Wednesday at a Jackson County hospital. The funeral will be Friday at 1 p.m. at Spry Funeral Home with the Revs. Oakley Drake and David Jones officiating.
Burial will be in Neals Chapel Cemetery.
Mrs. Burke was a native of Madison County and a member of Big Cove Holiness Church.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Clarence W. Burke.
Survivors include three daughters, Helen Nelson and Carolyn Cooper, both of Huntsville, and Frances Bryant of Scottsboro; six sisters, Evelyn Quick and Thelma Daugherty, both of Huntsville, Sarah Dorris of Birmingham, Betty Campbell of Killen, Elizabeth Morris of Florence, S.C., and Ann Watkins of Warner Robins, Ga.; and nine grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be today from 4 to 9 p.m. at the funeral home.
John H. Carden
SKYLINE - John Henry Carden, 78, died Tuesday at a Scottsboro hospital. The funeral will be Friday at 2 p.m. at Scottsboro Funeral Home with the Revs. Bill Pope and Ed Avans officiating.
Burial will be in Carden Cemetery.
Mr. Carden was preceded in death by one son, John Lewis Carden.
Survivors include his wife, Shirley Irene Carden; one daughter, Betty Jones of Hollytree; four sons, Frank Carden, Wayne Carden, Jimmy Carden and Don Carden, all of Skyline; and 10 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Visitation was to be today until 9 p.m. at the funeral home.
J.D. Couch
UNION GROVE - J.D. Couch, 80, of 1097 Apple Grove Road died Tuesday at his home. The funeral was to be today at 3 p.m. at Arab Memorial Chapel Funeral Home.
Burial was to be in the Brookwood Cemetery.
Survivors include his wife, Willie Jo Couch; one daughter, Sondra Keener of Union Hill; one son, Gerald Couch of Morgan City; one sister, Carrie McClendon of Gadsden; two brothers, Billy Couch and Jerald Couch, both of Gadsden; and seven grandchildren and one step-grandchild.
Wilbern Floyd
JOPPA - Wilbern Floyd, 59, of 306 Hilltop Road died Tuesday in Cullman. The funeral was to be today at 11 a.m. at Arab Memorial Chapel Funeral Home.
Burial was to be in the Ellenburg Cemetery.
Survivors include his father, Ernest Floyd of Altoona; three sisters, Willow Dean Vaughan of Blountsville, Thelma Elrod of Horton and Pat Ellenburg of Joppa; one brother, James David Floyd of Altoona; and several nieces and nephews.
Johanna M. Friedrich
Johanna Meyer Friedrich, 75, of 312 Jack Coleman Drive in Huntsville died Tuesday at her home. The funeral will be Friday at 10 a.m. at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Cullman with the Rev. Kevin McGrath officiating.
Burial will be in Sacred Heart Cemetery with Moss-Terry Funeral Services of Cullman in charge.
Mrs. Friedrich was an American Red Cross volunteer at Huntsville Hospital for 10 years.
Survivors include one son, Raymond G. Friedrich of Virginia; three daughters, Vivian F. Mann and Tina J. Friedrich, both of Birmingham, and Yvonne F. Clay of Decatur; one sister, Mildred M. Drong of Minnesota; and six grandchildren.
Visitation will be today at 5 p.m. at the funeral home. There will be a Rosary service Friday at 7:30 p.m. at the funeral home.
Anna K. Grotewold
SEBRING, Fla. - Anna Krenz Grotewold, 97, died Wednesday at a Huntsville, Ala., nursing home. The graveside service will be Saturday at 10 a.m. at Maple Hill Cemetery with the Rev. Coy Hallmark officiating.
Laughlin Service Funeral Home is in charge of burial.
Mrs. Grotewold was a native of Hannover, Germany, and moved to the United States in 1922. She lived in Sebring 50 years and was preceded in death by her husband, Hans Grotewold.
Survivors include one daughter, Mildred Grotewold Johnson of Huntsville; one granddaughter, Kyle Susan Johnson of Huntsville; two grandsons, Col. Warren Lee Johnson of Arlington, Va., and William Kenneth Johnson of Davis, Calif.; and one niece and one nephew.
Memorial donations may be made to Friends of the Huntsville/Madison County Public Library or to a favorite charity.
Lela L. Johnson
LONG BEACH, Calif. - Lela Lane Johnson, 76, died Aug. 12 at her home. The funeral will be Friday at 11 a.m. at New Hope Baptist Church in Palmdale with the Rev. Vincent Wilson officiating.
Burial will be in Desert Lawn Memorial Park with Hicks Mortuary in charge.
Mrs. Johnson was formerly of Huntsville, Ala. She was preceded in death by her husband, Robert Lee Johnson Jr.
Survivors include two daughters, Maggie Patricia Reid of Long Beach and Wilma Jean Tigue of Sylmar; her mother, Bessie Lane of Huntsville; five sisters, Josephine Leonard of Baton Rouge, La., Clara Mae Crutcher and Ellen Walton, both of Detroit, Lois Edwards of Middletown, Ohio, and Helen Burwell of Huntsville; three brothers, the Rev. Charles Lane and Woodie Lane Sr., both of Huntsville, and John A. Drake of Harvest, Ala.; and eight grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.
Kenneth R. Lawson
SCOTTSBORO - Kenneth Ray Lawson, 55, died Tuesday at a Chattanooga hospital. The funeral will be Friday at 3 p.m. at Rudder Funeral Home with Howard McCallie officiating.
Burial will be in Long Acre Cemetery.
Survivors include his parents, Hollis and Jean Lawson of Scottsboro; two sisters, Wendy Renee Mount of Scottsboro and Margaret Jean Southeard of Hollywood; and one brother, Donny Lawson of Scottsboro.
Howard T. Maxwell
ARAB - Howard T. Maxwell, 90, of 903 Hulaco Road died Tuesday at a local hospital. The memorial service will be Saturday at 2 p.m. at Arab Memorial Chapel Funeral Home.
Survivors include his wife, Beatrice Maxwell; two daughters, Beatrice Ann Lawler of Georgia and Mary Alexiou of Helena; three sons, Paul Joseph Maxwell and Raymond Allen Maxwell, both of Arab, and Gerald Lynn Maxwell of Huntsville; and three grandchildren.
Visitation will be Saturday from 1 to 2 p.m. at the funeral home.
Memorial donations may be made to the American Cancer Society.
Georgia C. Shelton
Georgia Carol Shelton of Huntsville died Wednesday at a local hospital. A graveside service will be Friday at 1 p.m. at Maple Hill Cemetery with the Rev. John Dees officiating.
Laughlin Service Funeral Home is in charge.
Survivors include her husband, James J. Shelton; one daughter, Deborah K. Shelton of Madison; one son, James J. Shelton II of Huntsville; one brother, Charles "Buddy" Buck of Tuscaloosa; and four sisters, Betty Colburn, Helen Sanders and Kate LeRoy, all of Tuscaloosa, and Shirley Levy of Kenner, La.
Visitation will be today from 6 to 8 p.m. at the funeral home.
Bernice I. Underwood
PHENIX CITY - Bernice Irene Underwood, 61, of 503 26th St. died Tuesday at a Columbus, Ga., hospital. The funeral will be Friday at 4 p.m. at Vance Memorial Chapel in Phenix City with the Rev. Brian Fuller officiating.
Burial will be in Lakeview Memory Gardens.
Survivors include her husband, William Underwood of Phenix City; three sons, Billy Harrell of Sarasota, Fla., Allen Harrell of Phenix City and Mike Harrell of Smiths; four sisters, Virginia Frost of Columbus, Ga., Gladys McKinney of Huntsville, Christine Grier of Buena Vista, Calif., and Frances Vaughn of Butler, Ga.; two brothers, Lucious Foster of Waverly Hall, Ga., and Houston Foster of Columbus, Ga.; and six grandchildren.
Visitation will be today from 6 to 8 p.m. at the funeral home.
Robert G. Walden
GUNTERSVILLE - Robert Glen "Sokey" Walden, 78, of 1455 Cha-La-Kee Road died Wednesday at his home. The funeral will be Friday at 2 p.m. at Carr Funeral Home of Guntersville.
Burial will be in Marshall Memorial Gardens.
Survivors include one daughter, Sherry Moore of Guntersville; one sister, Evelyn Shirley of Ensley; and four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Carl Walker
BOAZ - Carl Walker, 80, died Wednesday at a local hospital. The funeral was to be today at 4 p.m. at Carr Funeral Home of Boaz.
Burial was to be in Mount Zion Cemetery.
Survivors include his wife, Alice Russell Walker of Boaz; one son, Ricky "Buck" Walker of Boaz; two daughters, Jetti Campbell of Southside and Perry Bell of Rainbow City; and seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Robert R. Wessels
Retired Col. Robert Rogers Wessels, 76, of Huntsville died Wednesday at his home. Laughlin Service Funeral Home will announce funeral arrangements.
Col. Wessells graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1944 and spent 29 years in the military. During World War II, he served in the European Theater of Operations with the 106th Infantry division. He was captured at the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944 and was repatriated in the spring of 1945.
After transferring to the U.S. Corps of Engineers, serving two tours of duty in Korea, one tour of duty in Europe and various other assignments in the United States, he was assigned to lead the construction management of the Stennis Reesearch Center (formerly the Mississippi Test Facility) and the test stands and facilities at Marshall Space Flight Center. When he retired from the u.S. Army in 1973, Wernher von Braun appointed him director of facilities engineering at Marshall. In 1979, he co-founded Wescope Corp. and served as its president.
Survivors include his wife, Mary Leuthke Wessels of Huntsville; one son, William Wessels of Madison; one daughter, Kirtley Royer of Greeley, Colo.; one sister, Terry Fonda of Pueblo, Colo.; and one grandson.
Memorial donations may be made to Hospice Family Care.
Visitation will be today from 6 to 8 p.m. at the funeral home.
Vicie M. Williams
SCOTTSBORO - Vicie M. Williams, 83, died Tuesday at a Scottsboro hospital. The funeral was today at 11 a.m. at Scottsboro Funeral Home with the Rev. David Jones officiating.
Burial was in Cedar Hill Cemetery.
Mrs. Williams was a co-founder of the Williams Cove Holiness Church in Paint Rock Valley.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Rev. Horace T. Williams.
Survivors include three daughters, Elizabeth Turner of Skyline and Betty McAllister and Annette Birdsong, both of Scottsboro; two sons, Erskine Williams of Gurley and Wayne Williams of Larkinsville; three sisters, Mary Sue Thompson of Hollytree, Vesta Justice of Macedonia and Virginia Grant of Scottsboro; two brothers, H.T. Shores of Garth and General Sanders of Scottsboro; and 12 grandchildren, 19 great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren.
John R. Wright
LEWISBURG, Tenn. - John Roy Wright, 70, of 730 Franklin Road died Tuesday at a Fayetteville, Tenn., nursing home. The funeral was to be today at 2 p.m. at McCauley Funeral Home in Petersburg with Eddie Garrett officiating.
McCauley Funeral Home is in charge of burial arrangements.
Mr. Wright was a native of Marshall County, Tenn., a farmer and a member of the Church of Christ.
Survivors include two sisters, Nancy Terrell of Shelbyville and Ruth Ann Brooks of Petersburg; and five brothers, J.C. Wright, Malcolm Wright, Joe L. Wright and Ezelle Wright, all of Lewisburg, and Davis Wright of Petersburg.
