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Tavarus Dewayne Holland
Tavarus Dewayne Holland, 29, of Corinth, formerly of Holly Springs, died April 21, 2012, at Magnolia Hospital in Corinth. He was an auditor with RGIS Inventory in Memphis, Tenn.
Services were held at 11 a.m. on April 28 at Mt. Newell MB Church in Red Banks, where he was a member. Burial was in Mt. Newell Memorial Garden in Red Banks. J.F. Brittenum and Son Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.
He leaves his father, Billy Holland Sr. of Georgia; a sister, Felecia Watson of Holly Springs; and a brother, Billy Holland Jr. of Holly Springs.
Clay Columbus Jones
Clay Columbus Jones, 64, died April 20, 2012. He professed a faith in Christ at an early age and joined Adolphus Chapel CME Church. At the time of his passing, he was a member of McIntyre MB Church, where he served as a deacon and a member of the choir. Shortly after graduating W.T. Sims High School in 1966, he married Emma Mae Gill. Later he married Versia M. Crane. He sang with Adolphus Chapel Male Chorus. Most of his career was spent in construction with Webb Building Construction Company of Memphis, Tenn., where he specialized in concrete finishing. He supervised and trained many employees.
Services were held at 11 a.m. on April 28 at Anderson Chapel CME Church in Holly Springs. Rev. Willie Hoey and Rev. Dr. Kenneth E. Jones officiated. Burial was in Cottrell Memorial Garden. Serenity Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.
He leaves his wife of 23 years, Versia M. Jones; a daughter, Doris Norman (Calvin) of Potts Camp; three sons, Clay E. Jones of Olive Branch, Randy C. Jones, Marcus A. Jones, both of Holly Springs; stepsons Kevin L. Crane (Shanika), Katarus L. Crane, Darryl H. Crane of Corinth; a stepdaughter, Kimberly L. White (Omar) of Holly Springs; three brothers, A.J. Jones (Pam) of Milwaukee, Wisc., Robert E. Jones (Elnora) of Dayton, Ohio, Kenneth E. Jones (Frances) of Pleasant Grove, Ala.; seven sisters, Ocia B. Smith of Etta, Anner M. Lang, Carrie L. Ellis of Dayton, Ohio, Margarie J. Stovall of Byram, Verlease Blackmon of Joliet, Ill., Arlender Jones of Memphis, Tenn., Aurelia Jones-Smith (Elijah) of Jackson; and 16 grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by six brothers, Roosevelt Jones, L.C. Jones, Alvin C. Jones, Dave Wesley Jones, Henry Boyd Sr., Willie A. Boyd; and two sisters, Reolia Bell and Earnestine Dickerson Wilkins.
Pallbearers were Desie Howell, Fitzgerald Richmond, Jimmy Shipp, William Robinson, Stanley McCauley, Larry Howell, Travis Howell and Douglas Faulkner. Honorary pallbearers were A.J. Jones, Kenneth E. Jones, Robert E. Jones, Theodore Blackmon Sr., Elijah Smith and the gentlemen of W.T. Sims High School, Class of 1966.
Virgie Ann Miller
Virgie Ann Miller, 56, of Collierville, Tenn., died April 27, 2012, at her home. She was employed by Syncada Corp. for the past four years and was a member of the Macon (Tennessee) Church of Christ.
Services were held at 2 p.m. on April 28 at the Marlow Church of Christ in Walnut. Burial was in the Hopewell Cemetery in Saulsbury, Tenn.
She leaves her mother, Alline Wilkinson Miller; three sisters, Judy (Mitchell) Gurley of Potts Camp, Jane (Lee) White, Betty Wilson, both of Collierville, Tenn.; a brother, Larry (Mary) Miller of Marion, Ark.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Macon Church of Christ, 7010 Hwy 195, Somerville, TN 38068.
Robert E. Sanderlin Jr.
Robert E. Sanderlin Jr., 52, of Byhalia, died April 22, 2012, at his home. He was a Baptist, a sprinkler fitter in fire protection and a member of Local Union #669.
Services were held at 11 a.m. on April 25 at Meadowbrook Baptist Church in Byhalia. Burial was in Byhalia Cemetery. Holly Springs Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.
He leaves his mother, Wynona Jean Sanderlin of Byhalia; two sons, James Sanderlin of Byhalia, Corey Sanderlin of Watson; a daughter, Loni Brock of Watson; a sister, Susan Minor of Byhalia; and six grandchildren.
Clarence D. Scott
Clarence D. Scott, 80, of Michigan City, died April 19, 2012, at North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo. He was a member of Mt. Salem MB Church in Hickory Valley, Tenn., a U.S. Army veteran and a retired factory worker with Motan Company.
Services were held at 2 p.m. on April 25 at Hardaway MB Church in Michigan City. Burial was in Mitchell Cemetery in Michigan City. Rev. Sammy Scott officiated. J.F. Brittenum and Son Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.
He leaves his wife, Loyce Buggs Scott; two sisters, Ella White of Rockford, Ill., Bobbie Scott of Love Park, Ill.; three brothers, Seiver Scott Jr. of Grand Junction, Tenn, Sammy Scott, Milton Scott, both of Detroit, Mich.; a granddaughter and three great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by a son, Clarence Scott Jr.; and a sibling, Wylie Scott.
Betty Jo Stewart
Betty Jo Stewart, 78, of Myrtle, died April 24, 2012, at Methodist University Hospital in Memphis, Tenn. She was the widow of Roy W. Stewart and Pentecostal.
Graveside services were held at 11 a.m. on April 27 at Pleasant Hill Cemetery in Olive Branch. Holly Springs Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.
She leaves two brothers, Dorman Raines of Verde Valley, Az., Durl Raines of Batesville; two sisters, Dorothy Whittington of Potts Camp, Mary Ann Loper of Memphis, Tenn.; and two grandchildren.
Chesley Thorne Smith
Chesley Thorne Smith, 101, died April 24, 2012 at her home in Holly Springs. She was born the first day of June, 1910, in Holly Springs, the daughter of Buxton Thorne, a native of Airlie, NC, and Voorhies Daniel Thorne. Her education was first in the grammar school, high school, and collegiate departments of Mississippi Synodical College, a Presbyterian institution in Holly Springs, and at Randolph Macon College in Lynchburg, Va, which she attended in 1929 – 1930. On December 2, 1931, she married a young lawyer, Lemuel Augustus Smith Jr. Later a judge, he served on the Mississippi Supreme Court for 17 years, from 1965 until 1982, when he retired as Presiding Justice. Mrs. Smith graduated from the University of Mississippi with a B.A.E. in mathematics in 1961, and taught mathematics in schools in Holly Springs and in Jackson, while her husband was a Supreme Court judge. Judge Smith died in 2001. They had two children, L. A. Smith III, of Jackson, and Caffey S. Litkenhous of Huntsville, Ala.; two grandchildren, Edward Litkenhous III, of Huntsville, and Anna L. Merritt of Birmingham, Ala.; and three great-grandchildren, James Augustus Merritt, Alston Merritt and Margaret (Meg) Merritt of Birmingham. Mrs. Smith was predeceased by her brother, Dr. Edward Alston Thorne, M.D., of Holly Springs.
She was noted as a photographer and collector of antique photographs, documents, letters and diaries related to the history of Holly Springs and Marshall County. She began taking pictures as a child in 1918. She was generous in allowing use of material from her collection, which was professionally arranged and preserved. Material from the collection has appeared in a number of historical works. A turn-of-the-century photograph from her collection was used on the jacket of “A Vanishing America” published by Holt, Rinehart and Winston, in 1964. Mrs. Smith’s father is in the center of the picture, which depicts two couples in a lakeside serenade. The section of this book pertaining to Holly Springs was written by Hodding Carter.
Nine photographs as well as historical information were used by Mary Carol Miller in “Lost Mansions of Mississippi,” published in 1996. Dr. Robert Milton Winter made extensive use of Mrs. Smith’s collection in his massive history, “Shadow Of A Mighty Rock,” published in 1997. In 1999 Thomas Berryhill Press published “Our Pen Is Time, The Diary Of Emma Finley” with commentary by Dr. Robert Milton Winter, including photographs from the Chesley Smith collection, and in 2001, “Civil War Women, The Diaries Of Belle Strickland and Cora Harris Watson,” with commentary by Dr. Winter, using Mrs. Smith’s copy of the Strickland diary and photographs from her collection.
Hubert H. McAlexander, Ph.D., acknowledged use of Mrs. Smith’s resources in “The Prodigal Daughter,” his biography of the writer and Longfellow protégée Sherwood Bonner, published in 1981, and in “A Southern Tapestry,” his history of Marshall County published in 2000. In 1996, Mrs. Smith published her memoir, “Childhood In Holly Springs.” The success of this memoir, as well as widespread used of her collection, in part led to her receiving the “Ageless Heroes” award in 2000, the annual award sponsored by Blue Cross/Blue Shield.
Mrs. Smith was a member and officer in a number of historical and genealogical organizations including the Daughters of the American Revolution, Colonial Dames of Seventeenth Century, and Magna Carta Dames. She was a charter member of the Mississippi Company, Jamestowne Society. She was a member of Christ Church (Episcopal) Holly Springs, and while living in Jackson, a member of Saint Stephens Episcopal Church.
Services were at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 28, at Christ Episcopal Church with The Rev. Bruce McMillan officiating. Burial was in Hill Crest Cemetery in Holly Springs. Holly Springs Funeral Home was in charge of the arrangements.
Memorials may be made to Christ Episcopal Church, P.O Box 596, Holly Springs, MS 38635.
Fay Sprayberry
Fay Sprayberry, 79, of Ashland, died April 28, 2012, at Ashland Health & Rehab. She was the widow of Lavoy Sprayberry. She was a member of Bluff Springs Baptist Church in Ashland and a convenience store manager.
Services were held at 2 p.m. on April 30 at Holly Springs Funeral Home Chapel. Burial was in Bluff Springs Cemetery in Ashland. Bro. Faron Ash officiated.
She leaves two sons, Leslie Sprayberry, David Sprayberry, both of Ashland; two daughters, Betty Fay Sike of Jasper, Ala, Patricia Williams of Ashland; a brother, Billy Taylor of Ashland; 10 grandchildren 11 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.
She was preceded in death by a granddaughter, Angela Sprayberry.
