Alabama, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1805-1967 - 1814-1935
Janice C. Prudhomme
Janice C. Prudhomme, a federal employee for more than 40 years, died Wednesday at a local hospital after a long battle with cancer.
Mrs. Prudhomme, a native of Manassas, Va., resided in Mobile and was a member of Dauphin Way Baptist Church.
She received special recognition for her 40 years of government service.
Survivors include her husband, Edwin L. Prudhomme of Mobile; a daughter, Vicki Lynn Prudhomme of Mobile; four sisters, Patsy Gomez of Nevada, Deborah Meeler and Marcia Cornwell, both of Virginia, and Shelvy Jean Hawkins of Arkansas; and two brothers, Ronald Collins and Larry Collins, both of Virginia.
Services are set for 3 p.m. today at Mobile Memorial Gardens Funeral Home, with burial at Mobile Memorial Gardens.
[Published date: 12/05/1998]
Eloise D. Swint
Eloise D. Swint, who served for 25 years as a school traffic officer in Mobile, died Monday. She was 77.
Mrs. Swint, a Mobile native, was the Port City's first black school-traffic officer, according to family members.
She spent many years serving the community as a volunteer. She was a retired American Red Cross volunteer. She also had been involved with the Providence Hospital Auxiliary and the Mobile Human Resources Department. In addition, she was an active civil rights volunteer.
She was a member of Most Pure Heart of Mary Catholic Church for more than 50 years.
Survivors include three daughters, Joan Swint Russell and Deborah Swint McPherson, both of Mobile, and Sandra Swint McCall of Huntsville; a brother, Merville Douglas of Los Angeles; and six grandchildren.
Visitation will be at Most Pure Heart of Mary Catholic Church today from 11 a.m. until a Mass of Christian burial begins at noon. Burial will be at Magnolia Cemetery.
Hodge's Funeral Chapel is in charge.
[Published date: 12/05/1998]
Marilyn L. Widmer
Marilyn Lucille Widmer, a certified nursing assistant, died Friday at a local hospital. She was 63.
Mrs. Widmer, a Mobile native, resided in Citronelle. She was of the Methodist faith.
Survivors include her son, Julian Dennis Godwin of West Palm Beach, Fla.; a sister, Barbara Howard of Citronelle; and two grandchildren.
Services are set for 10 a.m. today at Freeman Funeral Home in Citronelle, with burial at Pine Crest Cemetery on Dauphin Island Parkway in Mobile.
[Published date: 12/05/1998]
Church E. Murdock Jr.,
Mobile's first cardiovascular specialist and the first to perform open-heart surgery in the Port City, died Tuesday after a lengthy illness. He was 73.
A native of El Dorado, Ark., Murdock opened his practice in Mobile in July 1957 and retired from medicine in 1988.
Dr. Dale Carey, a local chiropractor who had worked in the same medical center, Dynamic Medical Clinic on Government Boulevard, remembered his good friend as a knowledgeable and well-loved man.
"Patients loved him. They were sorry to hear of his passing. It's a great loss to the field and the staff, " Carey said.
His patients have remarked how Murdock really took time with them, would check on them at home, make any special appointments he thought they may need, and keep himself accessible even when he was home, Carey said.
Murdock was humorous, but very straightforward. "He would tell you exactly what he was thinking, " Carey said.
"I heard stories that (when Murdock was) at Providence Hospital, he would walk down the halls using colorful language and the nuns would walk behind him sprinkling holy water trying to get him to calm down, " he recalled, laughing fondly.
He also remembered how, at the clinic on Government Boulevard, Murdock would always holler out when he was ready for his next patient. "I can still hear his voice hollering, 'I'm ready! I'm ready!'"
Carey said he thought of Murdock like a father figure. "I've been able to talk to him about anything. (His passing) is a great loss as a friend and colleague."
Murdock received his undergraduate education from Vanderbilt and Emory universities. He received his bachelor of science degree in medicine and his M.D. at the University of Arkansas School of Medicine in 1949. He served a rotating internship at Scott-White Clinic in Temple, Texas, before entering a general surgery residency at University Hospital in Little Rock, Ark.
He served in the residency program for three years, then spent two years in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. He later returned to University Hospital to complete his residency and a one-year fellowship in cardiovascular surgery.
When Murdock first arrived in Mobile, local hospitals lacked a vital piece of equipment that would make open-heart surgery possible. He and three other doctors joined hands to purchase the first Pump Oxygenator to perform open-heart surgery in Mobile.
He performed the first such procedure at Providence hospital, recalled Nelda Britton, now the clinical nurse specialist in the operating room at USA Medical Center.
She also remembered how well Murdock looked after his patients.
"He took care of his patients. He would stay right there in the recovery room until they recovered enough to go to a room, " she said, adding that the recovery room staff in those days was inexperienced in caring for open-heart surgery patients because the procedure was so new.
Murdock was a member of the American Medical Association and was certified by the American Board of Surgery. He was also a Fellow in the American College of Surgeons and American College of Chest Physicians and was a founding member of the American College of Thoracic Surgeons.
He stopped performing open-heart surgery around 1970 and semiretired in 1987, Britton said.
Survivors include his wife, Barbara Murdock of Mobile; three children, Sue Ellen Reed of Glasgow, Ky., Cathy Priester of Memphis, Tenn., and Church Elwood Murdock III of Mobile; one sister, Sarah Jane Moore of Lynchburg, Va.; and six grandchildren.
A memorial service begins at 2:30 p.m. Dec. 12 at First Presbyterian Church in Glasgow, Ky.
The family requests that memorials be made to the American Diabetes Association, 200 Office Park Drive, Suite 303, Birmingham, AL 35223; or the University of South Alabama's Children's Hospital, 1700 Center St., Mobile, AL.
[Published date: 12/05/1998]
John M. Keith
John Marion Keith, a native and lifelong resident of Alabama, died Friday in a local hospital. He was a retired U.S. Coast Guard veteran. He was 84.
He is survived by one daughter, Judy C. Darring of Daphne; one son, Donald M. Keith of Mobile; and three grandchildren.
Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. today at Radney Funeral Home on Dauphin Street. Mass of Christian burial will be at 1 p.m. Monday at Christ the King Catholic Church in Daphne, with burial at Catholic Cemetery.
[Published date: 12/06/1998]
Ernest B. Kossow
Ernest B. Kossow, a member of St. Dominic Catholic Church, died Friday in a local hospital. He was 82.
Kossow is a Fort Morgan native and lifetime resident of Mobile.
He is survived by two sisters, Helen Stewart of Greensburg, La. and Betty Swann of Mobile; two brothers, Robert Kossow of Mobile and Allen Kossow of Panama City, Fla.
Visitation will be 5 to 8 p.m. today at Radney Funeral Home in Mobile. Funeral services will be 10 a.m. Monday at Radney Funeral Home. Burial will be in Magnolia Cemetery.
[Published date: 12/06/1998]
