11/14/99
MOBILE COUNTY
Michael A. Conniff
Michael Avery Conniff, a Mobile native and resident, died Friday at a local hospital. He was 78.
Conniff, a 37-year veteran of the Mobile Police Department, had been a captain in the Traffic Department. He was a past master of Mobile 40 F&AM Masonic Lodge, and a part-time radio announcer.
He is survived by his wife, Pearl Allen Conniff; two sons, Michael D. Conniff and Ronald F. Conniff; a daughter, Charlotte Cruthirds; five grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be from 4 to 8 this evening at Pine Crest Funeral Home on Dauphin Island Parkway. Services will be at 10 a.m. Monday in Pine Crest Cemetery.
BALDWIN COUNTY
Ruby E. Heim
FOLEY - Ruby E. Heim, a Foley homemaker and resident, died Friday at a hospital in Baldwin County. She was 91.
Mrs. Heim was a Theodore native and a former longtime Chickasaw resident.
Survivors include her daughter, Mary Catherine McFadden of Gulf Shores; three sons, Roy Edison Heim of Satellite Beach, Fla., Raymond George Heim of Chickasaw and Robert Elton Heim of Mobile; a sister, Anna Pearl Hebert of Theodore; nine grandchildren; and 15 great-grandchildren.
Services will be at 1 p.m. Monday at Radney Funeral Home on Dauphin Street. Visitation will be one hour prior to services. Burial will be in Old Springhill Cemetery.
11/13/99
Services set today for Mack Willis, 106
Mack Willis had a hard life working as a sharecropper. Though he never dwelled upon it, he still spent his twilight years trying to make younger generations realize and appreciate how much better off they are than he was growing up, relatives and friends said.
Today, family and friends will pay their final respects to Willis, who died at a local hospital Nov. 6 at the age of 106.
Willis, a Mobile-area resident since 1994, was born Feb. 7, 1893, in Madison County, Miss., and marveled at the changes he witnessed during his life, his family said.
His niece, Lueberta Vaughns of Prichard, who took care of Willis for the past seven years, recalled hearing her uncle talk of how hard he used to work on a Mississippi plantation.
"He had a pretty rough time," she said, remembering how he would talk of working in cold weather until his feet were frostbitten. He would also tell how his mother and grandmother would make his clothes from flour sacks, dying the material with walnut hulls in water, she said.
Mrs. Vaughns' longtime friend Mary Sheppard of Prichard, got to know Willis over the past seven years.
"He was a very sweet, sweet, understanding person," Mrs. Sheppard said. "He cared about everybody. He loved little children."
Mrs. Sheppard remembered how Willis, whom she affectionately called "Uncle Willie," talked of working on the farm from 5 a.m. until 7 p.m. or 8 p.m. at times. Sometimes there was no horse to grade land and he had to do it with a hoe and shovel, she recalled him saying.
He often remarked that he had seen a lot of things that he put in the back of his mind and didn't want to remember, she said. Mrs. Sheppard recalled a story Willis told of hearing Ku Klux Klan members ride by the shack where he lived only to awake the next day to find a neighbor's shack burned down.
"He gave me a lot of insight," Mrs. Sheppard said. "He was a very understanding person. I could go to him and talk about anything."
He enjoyed his snuff, going for car rides, watching others fish, and sitting on the porch to chat with neighbors and relatives of all ages, she said.
Since his death, Mrs. Vaughns said she still starts to fix his food whenever she's ready to eat. "I just can't get out of that. It hurts me so bad. I miss him."
Willis had been a longtime deacon at Andrews Chapel Missionary Baptist Church in Flora, Miss., where services are scheduled for 11 a.m. today. The cortege will leave Memorial Funeral Home in Prichard at 830 a.m. for the services in Flora.
Among Willis' survivors are three grandchildren, three great-grandchildren and four great-great-grandchildren.
11/15/99
MOBILE COUNTY
Iris Mae Conry
Iris Mae Conry, a retired administrative assistant for a homeowners association, died Saturday at her Mobile residence. She was 76.
Mrs. Conry was a native of Florida.
She is survived by her husband, Joseph Warren Conry Sr. of Mobile; two sons, Joseph W. Conry Jr. of Saudi Arabia and John Aubrey Conry of Mobile; and a sister, Bonita Snell.
Services are set for 11 a.m. Tuesday at Gilmer's Funeral Services on Zeigler Boulevard, with burial at Serenity Gardens Cemetery in Mobile.
Arthur C. Drago Sr.
Arthur C. Drago Sr., a retired stockbroker who was well-known in Mobile as a promoter of youth sports for many years, died Saturday night at a local health care facility. He was 78.
Born in Mobile in 1921, Drago worked nights as a sportswriter for The Mobile Press Register. He also played semi-pro basketball in the Mobile area until an automobile accident ended his active participation in athletics.
He funded a pair of scholarships at McGill-Toolen for deserving young women to honor the memory of his first wife, Carole Jones Drago.
Drago was a member of St. Ignatius Catholic Church.
He is survived by his wife, Eloise L. Drago of Mobile; a daughter, Mrs. Linda Mangold of Mobile; two sons, Arthur C. "Chip" Drago Jr. and Keith G. Drago, both of Mobile; seven grandchildren and a great-grandson.
Memorials may be made to Mercy Medical or Catholic Charities.
Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. today at Radney Funeral Home on Dauphin Street. Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Ignatius at 11 a.m. Tuesday. Burial will be in Pine Crest Cemetery.
Jennie W. Faircloth
Jennie W. Faircloth, a native of Mississippi who resided in Mobile, died Saturday at a Lucedale nursing home. She was 87.
She is survived by her daughter, Emma Jean of Oklahoma; a sister, Mara Parker of Semmes; two grandchildren, and a nephew.
Visitation will be tonight at 6 at Gilmer's Funeral Services on Zeigler Boulevard. Services are set for 3 p.m. Tuesday at the funeral home, with burial at Palestine Cemetery in Wilmer.
Robert McLamore Sr.
Robert Eugene McLamore Sr., a native of Repton who resided in Eight Mile, died Friday at a local hospital. He was 66.
He is survived by his wife, Pearl W. McLamore of Eight Mile; a son, Robert E. McLamore Jr. of Wilmer; five daughters, Mona Welford of Theodore, Rickie Eakin of Eight Mile, Regina Watkins of Spanish Fort, Tabra Thomas of Lucedale, Miss., and Lacy Knowles of Robertsdale; a brother, Robert M. McLamore of Jackson, Miss; and a sister, Vera Laursen of Tacoma, Wash.
Visitation and a memorial service are set for Tuesday from 5 to 7 p.m. at Radney Funeral Home on Dauphin Street.
Mary Fay Sullivan
Mary Fay Sullivan, an employee of Forest Wilson Monument Co., died Saturday at a local hospital. She was 34.
Mrs. Sullivan, a native of Mobile, resided in Chickasaw.
She is survived by her husband, Michael W. Sullivan of Chickasaw; her mother, Marion Black; and a brother, C. Frank Black.
Visitation will be tonight from 5 to 8 at Radney Funeral Home on Dauphin Street. Services are set for 9 a.m. Tuesday at the funeral home. Graveside services will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday at Whitehall Methodist Church Cemetery in Louisville, Miss.
Mamie H. Williams
Mamie Henderson Williams, a native of Claiborne and a longtime resident of Mobile, died Sunday at a local nursing home. She was 103.
Mrs. Williams was a member of Greater Mount Olive Baptist Church No. 2.
She is survived by a son, Joseph Williams Jr. of Mobile, and two daughters, Gertrude Mosley of Mobile and Gloria Williams of New Orleans.
Hodge's Chapel is in charge of arrangements.
BALDWIN COUNTY
Franklin L. Coley
POINT CLEAR - Franklin Luke Coley, who had retired from Courtalds in 1994, died Thursday at a local hospital. He was 65.
Coley was a member of Fairhope United Methodist Church and had served in the U.S. Air Force Reserve. He had been a Phi Kappa Sigma Fraternity member at the University of Alabama.
A resident of Point Clear, Coley was a native of Century, Fla.
He is survived by his wife, Dinah Coley of Point Clear; two sons, Franklin Luke Coley Jr. and Mark Green Coley, both of Mobile; two daughters, Susan Coley Ross of Daphne and Mae Coley Winters of Mobile; a brother, Samuel Willard Coley of Mobile; and a granddaughter.
Services took place Saturday at Fairhope United Methodist Church, with burial at Enon Baptist Church Cemetery.
CHOCTAW COUNTY
Curvin S. Miller
NEEDHAM - Curvin Staples Miller, a resident of Needham, died Saturday at a Mississippi hospital. He was 80.
He is survived by his wife, Louise Coody Miller of Needham; a son, Bobby Dell Miller of Butler; a daughter, Rebecca Miller of Needham; two brothers, Vivian Miller of Butler and Howard Miller of Mobile; two sisters, Lucille Lewis of Demopolis and Louise Cook of Georgia; six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Services are set for 1 p.m. today at Toxey Baptist Church, with burial at Brightwater Cemetery in Needham.
Phillips Funeral Home in Gilbertown is in charge of arrangements.
CLARKE COUNTY
Edwin D. Knight
GROVE HILL - Edwin Dewitt "Dick" Knight, who had been a civil engineer with the state Department of Transportation, died Saturday at his Grove Hill home. He was 70.
Knight, a native of Guin, was a U.S. Army veteran of the Korean War and a member of Grove Hill Baptist Church.
He is survived by his wife, Sara Knight of Grove Hill; a son, Tim Knight of Hoover; five daughters, Wanda Westbrook of Pinson, Pam Nelson of Jacksonville, Fla., Cathy Baker of Grove Hill, Janet Woodham of Grove Hill and Rita Phillips of Grove Hill; his mother, Viola Knight of Tuscaloosa; two brothers, Brady Knight of Fort Deposit and Alan Knight of Northport; three sisters, Frankie Franklin of Dalton, Ga., Peggy Flippo of Guin and Faye Samples of Leeds; and five grandchildren.
Services are set for 11 a.m. today at Grove Hill Baptist Church, with burial at Magnolia Lawn Cemetery in Grove Hill.
Lathan Funeral Home in Grove Hill is in charge of arrangements.
WASHINGTON COUNTY
Lillie Reed
McINTOSH - Lillie Reed, a native resident of McIntosh, died Saturday at a Mobile hospital. She was 92.
A member of Happy Gospel Assembly of God Church, she is survived by a son, Howard D. Reed Jr. of Waggaman, La.; two daughters, Carrie B. Rivers and Voncile J. Radcliffe, both of McIntosh; a brother, Roger Weaver of McIntosh; three sisters, Mary Ann Weaver of McIntosh, Viola Campbell of Mount Vernon and Ruby Fuller of Citronelle; 12 grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and seven great-great grandchildren.
Visitation will be tonight beginning at 6 o'clock at Happy Gospel Assembly of God Church in McIntosh. Services are set for noon Tuesday at the church.
OTHER
William D. Farmer
FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. - William David Farmer, who resided in Fort Walton Beach and had family in the Mobile area, died Thursday at a Florida hospital. He was 60.
Farmer was a native of St. Louis, Mo.
He is survived by his wife, Phyllis Holland of Fort Walton Beach; a son, William David Farmer Jr. of Silverhill; eight daughters, Norma McNeil of Tallahassee, Fla., Connie Salva of Theodore, Dorothy Wilson of Mobile, Kim Grainger of Foley, Barbara Keith of Bayonet Point, Fla., Tracy Hawkins of Fort Walton Beach, Stephanie Clark of Fairhope and Micky Tritt of Anchorage, Alaska; three brothers, Lloyd Farmer, Melvin Farmer and George Farmer, all of Mobile; a sister, Mary Covey of Mobile; and 15 grandchildren.
Graveside services are set for noon todayat Bayview Cemetery.
Bayview Funeral Home in Fairhope is in charge of arrangements.
