Funeral services for Bettye Hamilton Lynn, 69, of West Helena will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday at the chapel of Roller-Citizens Funeral Home in West Helena. Additional services will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at the chapel of Roller-Citizens Funeral Home in Marianna. The Rev. Mark Beam will officiate. Burial will be at Marianna Memorial Park in Marianna.
Lynn, born Oct. 17, 1933, at LaGrange, died Dec. 3, 2002, at her home in West Helena.
She was a former bookkeeper for the Forrest City Public Schools, was a member of the Order of Eastern Star, a member of the West Helena Baptist Church and of the church camping group.
She leaves her husband, Alvin H. Lynn of West Helena; three daughters, Sharon Harris of Helena, Barbara Sanders and Deborah Rheaume both of West Helena; a sister-in-law, Tolice Long Heimsoth of Jonesboro; five grandchildren, Charlie Harris, Jimmy L. Sanders and Jonathan Sanders of West Helena, Kimberly Rheaume of Little Rock and Lindsey Harris of Helena. Her parents, Charles F. and Mattie Mae Hamilton and a sister preceded her in death.
Roller-Citizens Funeral Home will direct services.
ZAILMAN ROBINSON
Funeral services for Zailmon A. Robinson, 72, of Oneida will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday at the chapel of Jackson and Highley Funeral Home. Burial will be at Salem cemetery near Lake View.
Robinson, born Dec. 16, 1928 in Lee County, died Nov. 26, 2002. He married
Willie Mae Robinson in February 1957 and to their union seven children were born.
He leaves five sons and two daughters, Yvonne M. Robinson, Jameel Dewan Robinson, Hannibal Robinson, Willie J. Robinson, Stephainie A. Robinson, Elijah Robinson, and David Robinson, 18 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren and many brothers and sisters, relatives and friends.
Jackson and Highley Funeral Home will direct services.
MARVIN SMITH
Funeral services for (Coach) Marvin Lewis Smith, 51, of Poplar Grove, will be held at noon Saturday, Dec. 7, 2002, at the Central High School gymnasium. The Rev. Tommy Stevenson will officiate. Burial will be at the Mt. Moriah cemetery in Marvell.
Visitation will be from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Friday at the chapel of Brown's Home for Funerals in West Helena. An additional visitation will be from 10:00 a.m. until the service Saturday at the gymnasium.
Smith, born Aug. 19, 1951, to Isaac and LaVonzelle Smith, died Nov. 30, 2002, at his home in Poplar Grove. He was a member of the Star of Bethlehem Church, where he accepted Christ at a young age. Smith was a 1969 graduate of Barton High School.
He was employed by the Helena-West Helena School District, where he was a teacher and coached girl's basketball and volleyball. For a semester and a half he fulfilled his life-long dream of coaching college basketball, when he coached at Philander Smith College in Little Rock.
He leaves his wife of 28 years, Janice Smith; two sons, Maurice Smith of Little Rock and Marcus Smith of Houston, Texas; two grandchildren, Magenta and Shaheid Smith of Fayetteville; two sisters, Martha Craig of Harvey, Ill., and Lavern Glaspie of Poplar Grove; seven brothers and their families, John and Arlene Hamilton of Moro, Isaac and Mildred Smith of Poplar Grove, Maceo and Brenda Smith of Fort Worth, Texas, James and Vernita Smith of Oklahoma City, Okla., Charlie Smith of Poplar Grove, Dexter and Allison Smith of Sikeston, Mo., and Russell and Ann Smith of Helena and a host of uncles, aunts, nieces, nephews, cousins, relatives and friends.
Brown's Home for Funerals will direct the services.
LARRY DAVIS
Funeral services for Larry Donell Davis, 43, of West Helena will be held at noon Sunday, Dec. 8, 2002, at the Phillips, Lee, Monroe and Desha District Center at Helena Crossing. The Rev. Walter Smooths will officiate. Burial will be at Oak Grove cemetery in West Helena.
He leaves to cherish his memories, his mother, Rosie Davis of West Helena; a daughter, Brandy Davis of Chicago, Ill; a son, Shun Gordan of Lambrook; a brother, Watson Davis of Chicago, Ill.; seven sisters, Ada Fields of Omaha, Neb., Mattie Kendrix of Phoenix, Ariz., Doris Davis, Vera Davis Collins, Rose David Shears of Chicago, Ill., Earnestine Davis Otis of West Helena and Shirley Edmond Gilbert of Little Rock; three aunts, friends and relatives.
Stephens Funeral Home will direct services.
MARY ENLOW
A memorial service for Mary Katherine Brown Enlow, 90, of West Helena will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 26, 2003, at the Cleburne Avenue Presbyterian Church. Mrs. Enlow died Jan. 23, 2003, at Methodist Hospital in Memphis.
Mrs. Enlow moved as a child to West Helena with her family before 1920 from her birthplace of Rice Lake, Wis. In 1937, she married
Foy Lee Enlow, who was then the catcher for the Helena semi-professional baseball team and who later managed the Helena Fertilizer Company. Her husband preceded her in death in 1959.
She worked for the Arkansas Department of Human Services for more than two decades before retiring in the mid-1980s. She was a volunteer at the Phillips County Library in Helena and was a devoted member of the Cleburne Avenue Presbyterian Church for more than 80 years.
Mrs. Enlow is survived by her brother, the Rev. William Brown of Elkin, N.C.; her daughter, Josephine Enlow Doyle of St. Louis, Mo.; her sons, Carter Brown Enlow and James Lee Enlow of Houston, Texas; and six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Memorials may be made to the Cleburne Avenue Presbyterian Church of West Helena and to the Phillips County Library.
DANA GRIFFIN
Funeral arrangements for Dana Ann Griffin, 42, of Lexa are incomplete and will be announced later by Roller-Citizens Funeral Home in West Helena.
Griffin died in a two-vehicle accident Jan. 23, 2003, in Lee County.
JAKAYLA TILEMAN
Graveside services for infant Jakayla Sumone Tileman will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 25, 2003, at the New Jerusalem Church cemetery in Wabash. The Rev. Eddie Debnam will officiate.
Visitation will be from 2 to 5 p.m. today at the chapel of Brown's Home for Funerals in West Helena.
Jakayla died Jan. 18, 2003, at the University Hospital in Little Rock.
She leaves her parents, Kensa McCraney and Odell Tileman of Wabash; her grandparents, Andrea Montague and George Tileman, and Leomia Rodgers and Kenneth McCraney; great-grandparents, Freddie Mae and Henry Rodgers; a brother, Odell Tileman Jr.; and two sisters, Quanisha Tileman and Jakiria Tileman.
Brown's Home For Funerals will direct services.
WILLIE LONZO
Funeral services for Willie Lonzo, 86, of Helena will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25, 2003, at the Mount Tabor Missionary Baptist Church, 1160 Holly St., Helena. The Rev. Nathaniel Hull will officiate. Burial will be at Magnolia cemetery in Helena.
Visitation will be from 1 to 6 p.m. Friday at the chapel of Jackson and Highley Funeral Home in West Helena.
Lonzo, born July 4, 1917, to the late Lula Volley Lonzo and Jimmie Lonzo, died Jan. 19, 2003.
He was united in marriage to Bernice Hill in 1941 and to their union 11 children was born. His wife Bernice; his brother, Earnest; two sisters, Beulah and Lola; two grandchildren and two sons-in-law preceded him in death.
He confessed a hope in Christ at an early age at the Mercy Seat M.B. Church and later joined Mount Tabor M.B. Church under the leadership of Rev. Hull. He was a World War II veteran, a farmer and a retired laborer with over 40 years of service at Chicago Mill and Lumber Company.
He leaves seven sons and their families, Willie and Jessie Lonzo of East St. Louis, Mo., Henry and Essie Lonzo of Lansing, Mich., Charles Lonzo, Sammie and Georgia Lonzo, Melvin Lonzo, Joseph and Lourey Lonzo of West Helena and Jerry Lonzo of Norcross, Ga.; four daughters and their families, Claudine Payne, Lois and Norris Hilliard of West Helena, Elizaeth Cockerham, and Lula Winfield of Chicago, Ill.; a brother, Henry Lonzo of West Helena; a sister-in-law, Essie Lonzo of Illinois; 37 grandchildren; 31 great-grandchildren; four great-great-grandchildren and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, relatives and friends.
Jackson and Highley Funeral Home will direct services.
ROOSEVELT STEWART SR.
Funeral services for Roosevelt Stewart Sr., 76, of Helena will be held at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25, 2003 at the True Vine Missionary Baptist Church in West Helena. The Rev. Nathaniel Hull will officiate. Burial will be at Jackson Memorial cemetery in the Southland Community.
Visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 24, 2003, at the chapel of J.M. Calhoun Funeral Home in Helena.
Stewart, born Dec. 13, 1926, in Marianna, died Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2003, at St. Vincent's Hospital in Little Rock. He worked for Safeway Grocery Store for over 30 years and sang with the Southern Echoes for many years.
He leaves to cherish his memory his wife Willie Mae Stewart; a son, Roosevelt Stewart Jr. and wife Laura of Clarksville, Tenn.; a daughter, Rose Mary Ore and husband Theodis of Lula, Miss.; three sisters, nieces, nephews, relatives and his church family at True Vine Church.
J.M. Calhoun Funeral Home in Helena will direct services.
REV. DR. PERCELL PERKINS
Funeral services for Rev. Dr. Percell Perkins, 85, of Helena will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 8, 2003, at the Phillips, Lee, Monroe and Desha District Center at Helena Crossing in Helena. Elder James Hicks will officiate. Burial will be at Jackson Memorial cemetery in the Southland Community.
Rev. Perkins was born February 6, 1917, in Duncan, Miss. He was the oldest of three siblings, all of whom preceded him in death. He was born to the union of Ellis and Lucille Perkins. He departed this life on Friday, Jan. 31, 2003, at his home in Helena.
An old stranger that happened by his home taught Perkins the scales and how to read music at a young age. With much practice, young Percell kept on until he was able to write the music that he had been singing most of his life, creating a harmony and a sound that was all his own.
Even while stationed in Arizona, where he completed more than two years in the United States Army, he continued to sing. Returning to Clarksdale, Miss., in 1941, Perkins performed as a lead singer for the Glorybound Singers of Helena, then the Fairfield Four of Alabama, and the Soprocco Singers of New Orleans. In the mid 1940s, Percell became one of the original members of one of the greatest singing groups in popular music history, the Five Blind Boys of Mississippi. The only sighted member, Perkins served as the group's manager while also composing and arranging materials for the group.
In June 1950, Perkins arranged "Our Father." This single recorded on Peacock Records in September 1950 was listed on the top 10 R&B; hits list and pushed the Five Blind Boys of Mississippi to superstardom and earned them a gold record. During his lifetime, Perkins recorded over 200 songs, many of which he composed and arranged, such as "Save A Seat for Me", "Soldiers", "Born Again", "All Abroad", and "My Soul Will be Alright." He performed with groups such as the Five Blind Boys of Alabama, the Fairfield Four, the Swan Silvertones, the Pilgrim Jubilee, the Glorybound Singers, the Soprocco Singers, and Judge L.T. Simes and the Jury.
Upon being called to the ministry, Perkins left life on the road to return home to Helena where he was ordained as a Baptist Minister by the Rev. B.A. McPike. He later went on to pastor two Helena churches, Galilee Baptist Church, where he served more than 40 years, King Solomon Baptist Church, where he pastored for more than 36 years. He also pastored Gumwood Baptist Church at Ratio for more than 35 years.
Although, giving his life to the ministry, Perkins did not lose his passion for music and spreading the gospel through music. He continued to record and perform with records such as "The Lord's Prayer" and "God Will Provide" in the 1980s.
In 1970, Rev. Perkins started the Goodwill Gospel Hour, which was broadcast from KFFA Radio Station in Helena. In 1983, he gave the opening prayer for the inauguration of Governor William (Bill) Jefferson Clinton in Little Rock.
In October 2000, Perkins was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame along with the Five Blind Boys of Mississippi, as one of he oldest and longest-lasting gospel quartets in gospel music history.
On Jan. 21, 2002, Perkins performed at the regular Arkansas Baptist State Convention held in Little Rock before former President Bill Clinton, who was the honored speaker for the occasion.
On Feb. 6, 2002, Rev. Perkins celebrated his 85th birthday and recorded his fifth solo album since leaving the Five Blind Boys of Mississippi, during a live recording held at the Galilee Baptist Church in Helena.
Perkins served the P.L.M. & D. District Association as an officer for many years, with his final years serving as vice moderator of Philips and Desha counties. He also served as president of the State and Home Mission Board of the Regular Arkansas Baptist Convention and was a strong advocate for Christian education.
He leaves to celebrate his homecoming, his wife, Thelma Perkins of Helena; an adopted son, Kaman Perkins; two stepdaughters, Thomason Sanders and Holly Walker; three stepsons, Robert Hawkins, John Hawkins, and Clifton Hawkins; his mother-in-law, Verda Bradley; his sister-in-law Unita Blackwell of Mayersville, Miss., and four other sisters-in-law; and 17 grandchildren, 54 great-grandchildren, 15 great-great grandchildren and many nieces, nephews, cousins, his church family and a host of friends whom he loved dearly.
A daughter, Queen Ester Payne, preceded him in death.
Jackson and Highley Funeral Home in West Helena will direct services.
