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.
Robert Allen
ATHENS - Robert Allen, 81, died today at his home. Limestone Chapel Funeral Home will announce arrangements later.
Lewis E. Aultman
DUTTON - Lewis Edward Aultman, 82, died Saturday. The funeral will be Tuesday at 1 p.m. at Kerby Funeral Home in Henagar.
Burial will be in Pleasant View Cemetery.
Mr. Aultman was a veteran of World War II and the Korean War. He was a retired carpenter. He was preceded in death by one daughter, Paula Aultman Jones.
Survivors include his wife, Lavenice Aultman; one daughter, Ann McVay of Dutton; one son, Larry Aultman of Fort Payne; two brothers, Robert Aultman of Sylvester, Ga., and Guy Aultman of Ohio; four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be today from 5 to 9 p.m. at the funeral home.
Sarah M. Burns
ATHENS - Sarah McMurry Burns, 71, of 9555 Poplar Point Road died today at a local hospital. Limestone Chapel Funeral Home will announce arrangements later.
Emma L. Earp
GUNTERSVILLE - Emma Levern Earp, 74, of Marshall Manor Nursing Home died Saturday at her home. A graveside service was to be today at 11 a.m. at Mount High Cemetery with Albertville Memorial Chapel Funeral Home in charge.
Survivors include three sisters, Bessie Camp and Vera Charles, both of Albertville, and Edna Nixon of Glencoe; several nieces and nephews.
Mary A. Garrett
ALBERTVILLE - Mary Alice Garrett, 77, of 811 Carlisle Street died Friday at the Boaz Nursing Home. A graveside service was to be today at 2 p.m. at Marshall Memorial Gardens with Adams Funeral Home in charge.
Survivors include a son, Roger Lee Garrett of Albertville; three sisters, Lydia Sharia Hodnett of Lineville, Vivian Maurine Slaton of Arab and Barbara Audrey Bailey of Flint, Mich.; one grandchild and two great-grandchildren.
Lorene O. Ivey
ALTOONA - Lorene Odell Ivey, 78, of 125 Riverbend Road died Saturday at a Birmingham hospital. The funeral was to be today at noon at Albertville Memorial Chapel Funeral Home.
Burial was to be in Liberty Cemetery at Aroney.
Survivors include one stepdaughter, Joanne Campbell of Birmingham; one son, Jim Newman of S.C.; two stepsons, Max Ivey of Snead and Tommy Ivey of Birmingham; one sister, Pansy Bouldin of Crossville; one brother, Ollie Odell of Boaz; and three grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Pluma W. Lands
SECTION - Pluma White Lands, 60, died Saturday at a Chattanooga hospital. The funeral was to be today at 2 p.m. at W.T. Wilson Funeral Home chapel with Bro. Oren Whitley officiating.
Burial was in Old Sardis Cemetery.
Mrs. Lands was a member of Old Sardis Holiness Church.
Survivors include her husband, Colemon Lands; one daughter, Karen Lands of Section; one son, Jacky Lands of Guntersville; one sister, Lucille Knopps of Valley Head; one brother, Grady White of Ider; and three grandchildren.
Donald C. Mastin
Donald Cornelins Mastin, 25, of Huntsville died Thursday at a Jackson County hospital. The funeral will be Tuesday at 1 p.m. at Pine Grove M.B. Church with the Rev. Tyrone Bowling officiating.
Burial will be in Pine Grove Cemetery in Harvest with Royal Funeral Home in charge.
Survivors include four sons, Donald Mastin Jr., Jamis Jolly, Jordan Jolly and Keyone Mastin, all of Huntsville; one daughter, Kiondra Nunn of Decatur; his mother, Margaret Mastin of Huntsville; six brothers, Clifford Mastin, Stephen Mastin, Christopher Mastin, Bryant Mastin, all of Huntsville, Marvin Miles and Billy Miles, both of Madison; four sisters, Susie Mastin, Iris Burress and Katina Mastin, all of Huntsville, and Cynthia Baker of Madison.
His body will be at the church one hour before the funeral.
Emily J. Robinson
GURLEY - Emily Johnson Robinson, 80, died Sunday at a Huntsville hospital. The funeral will be Tuesday at 1 p.m. at Spry Funeral Home chapel with the Rev. Robert E. Mayo and the Rev. James O. Wilbourn officiating.
Burial will be in Gurley Cemetery.
Mrs. Robinson was a native of Jackson County and had lived in Gurley for 30 years. She was retired from Barber Coleman and was a member of Shipps Mission Baptist Church.
Survivors include one son, Gary Wayne Robinson of Gurley; two daughters, Glenda Robinson Davis of Hazel Green and Vivian Robinson Mason of Skyline; and five grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be today from 5 to 9 p.m. at the funeral home.
Marjorie E. Seigh
Marjorie E. Seigh, 77, of Huntsville died Saturday at a local hospital. The funeral will be Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Spry Funeral Home chapel.
Burial will be in Richland Township Cemetery in Johnstown, Pa.
Miss Seigh was a native of Johnstown, Pa., and had been a resident of Huntsville for the past 16 years. She was retired from Metropolitan Life Insurance Company.
Survivors include one brother, Robert Blaine Seigh of Huntsville; one niece, Deborah E. Martin of Huntsville; and one nephew, John Seigh of Huntsville.
Visitation will be Tuesday from 4 to 7 p.m. at the funeral home.
In lieu of flowers donations may be made to a favorite charity.
E. James Smith
E. James ''E.J.'' Smith, 59, of Huntsville died Thursday. The funeral will be Wednesday at 2 p.m. at Holy Spirit Catholic Church with the Rev. Tom Ackerman officiating.
Burial will be in Maple Hill Cemetery with Laughlin Service Funeral Home in charge.
Mr. Smith was a native of Sayre, Pa. He was retired from the Xerox Corporation and moved to Huntsville in 1998.
Survivors include his wife, Laurie Porter Smith; two sons, Jim Smith and Mark Smith, both of Rochester, N.Y.; two daughters, Karla Kellogg of Rochester and Maria Walsh of Buffalo, N.Y.; his mother, Verda Smith of Cherry Hill, N.J.; one sister, Barbara Lattimer of Cherry Hill; one stepson, Paul Porter of Huntsville; and three grandchildren, Keith and Kyle Kellogg of Rochester, and Julia Walsh of Buffalo.
Visitation will be Tuesday from 6 to 8 p.m. at the funeral home.
Memorials may be made to the Leukemia Society of America.
Avis R. White
Avis ''Vallie'' Rodman White, 84, of Huntsville died Saturday at a local hospital. A graveside service will be Tuesday at 2 p.m. at Maple Hill Cemetery with Laughlin Service Funeral Home in charge.
Mrs. White was preceded in death by her husband, Joseph P. White.
Survivors include two daughters, Landra Elizabeth Carroll of Plano, Texas and Wilma Dean Taylor of Pensacola, Fla.; three brothers, Jim Rodman of Athens, Charles Rodman and George Rodman, both of Madison; one sister, Susie Lewter of Madison; and three grandchildren.
Visitation will be Tuesday from noon to 1 p.m. at the funeral home.
William Benedict
LOS ANGELES - William Benedict, a character actor best known as Whitey in the old Bowery Boys comedies, died Nov. 25 from complications of heart surgery. He was 82.
Born in Haskell, Okla., he was a newsboy and a plumber's assistant before appearing in films as a youngster in the mid-1930s.
He played Skinny in some of the low-budget East Side Kids films about the exploits of a tough gang of New York youngsters. In the 1940s and '50s, Benedict made regular appearances as Whitey in the Bowery Boys films, popular successors to the East Side Kids.
Norwood Hodges
ANNISTON - Former Anniston mayor and University of Alabama football player Norwood Hodges, who was credited with the city's revitalization that led to All-American City designation in 1978, has died. He was 72.
Hodges, who died Saturday morning at his home, was a Hueytown native who coached high school football in the Selma area after graduating from Alabama. He went on to build a fledgling automobile dealership into a nationally recognized business.
Hodges was mayor of Anniston from 1972-1979, taking an active role in the "Spirit of Anniston" organization that aimed to revitalize the downtown, develop new industry and plan city growth. Many credit him with Anniston being awarded the "All-American City" status.
"He was a leader in unique fashion," said Mayor Gene Stedham, who served on the City Council while Hodges was mayor.
During World War II, Hodges was recruited out of high school in Hueytown by University of Alabama football coach Frank Thomas. He became a member of the famous "War Babies" team, which won a berth to the Sugar Bowl in 1944. He also played in Alabama's last invitation to the Rose Bowl the following year.
After graduating, he coached high school football for two years in Selma, then became an auto salesman, eventually moving to Anniston where he opened his own used-car dealership a few years later. Hodges moved on to selling new Volkswagens, and in 1977 added Mazdas. His dealership was named one of the top 25 in the country by Time magazine in 1985.
He is survived by his wife, Jan, three daughters, four sons and two sisters, as well as 12 grandchildren.
Hodges' funeral is at 2 p.m. today at First United Methodist Church of Anniston, with a private graveside service and burial following at New Highland Cemetery.
