BACKUSServices for Gordon “Lee” Backus, 82, will be at 11 a.m. today at Gray Brown Service Chapel. Rev. Robert Smith Jr. will officiate. Burial will be in Edgemont Cemetery. Gray Brown Service will direct.
Mr. Backus died April 13 in Jacksonville.
Survivors include his three sons and two daughters-in-law, Bill Backus and Bob and JoAnn Backus of Jacksonville, and Mike and Cindy Backus of Huntsville; four grandchildren, Katherine Conn and husband, Vince, Spence Backus, Scott Backus, and Missy Backus; two sisters, Lynn Daugherty of Glencoe and Mary Gladys Hight of Oxford; and several nieces and nephews.
Pallbearers were Johnny Stinson, Chip Stinson, Billy Daugherty, Scott Backus, Spencer Backus, and Vince Conn.
Mr. Backus was a native and lifelong resident of Calhoun County and a member of Weaver First United Methodist Church. He served in the Army during World War II. He was the owner and operator of Lee’s Drive Inn in Anniston during the ‘40s, ‘50s, and ‘60s. He also operated several other restaurants until 2006. His wife of 61 years, Joyce Cole Backus, two sisters Flora Belle Fleming and Dessie Mae Burdette, a brother Roscoe Backus and his parents Mr. and Mrs. H.E. Backus preceded him in death.
Memorial donations can be made to the Alacare Hospice.
BETHEA
Services for Reba Louise Tolleson Bethea, 80, were at 4 p.m. Saturday, April 12, at First United Methodist Church. Rev. Dr. Bill Etheridge officiated. K.L. Brown Funeral Home and Cremation Center directed. Burial was in Edgemont Cemetery.
Mrs. Bethea died April 10 at Jacksonville Health and Rehabilitation Center.
Survivors include three daughters and sons-in-law, Shirlene and Guy Herb, Beverly and Mike Almaroad and Lynn and Raymond Ayers all of Jacksonville; two sons and daughters-in-law, Perry Walker and Ellen Bethea III of Jacksonville and Guy Tolleson and Beverly Bethea of Montgomery; a brother, Wilbur Tolleson; 15 grandchildren and five great- grandchildren, Jackson Almaroad, Mason Almaroad, Cailey Almaroad, Luke Almaroad and Eric Heinen and several nieces and nephews.
Pallbearers were Mrs. Bethea’s grandsons, Drew Screven, Griffin Herb, Corey Almaroad, Clint Herb, Brad Almaroad, Tyler Almaroad, Joshua Bethea, Nick Bethea, Zach Pearce, Wesley Bethea and Bryntly Bethea. Honorary pallbearers were members of The Ruth Circle of First United Methodist Church and her granddaughters, Sarah Screven, Tabitha Pearce and Taylor Bethea.
Mrs. Bethea was a member of the First United Methodist Church, an office volunteer, a member of her Sunday school class and the Ruth Circle. She was a member of the American Legion Women’s Auxiliary and had a love for animals. She and her late husband, Perry Walker Bethea Jr., owned and operated Bethea Furniture Company in Jacksonville for 28 years. During their marriage, the Betheas enjoyed entertaining friends at their home, traveling and family vacations.
In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death her parents Neal and Zera Tolleson, a baby daughter, Elizabeth Ann Bethea, five sisters and a brother.
Memorial donations can be made to the First United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 1025, Jacksonville 36265.
BOOZER
Services for Charles Napoleon Boozer, 91, of Jacksonville were at 11 a.m. Friday, April 11, at First Baptist Church of Williams. Revs. Mike Oliver and Bob McLeod officiated. K.L. Brown Funeral Home and Cremation Center directed. Burial was in Williams Community Cemetery.
Mr. Boozer died on April 8 at his home.
Survivors include his wife of 61 years, Hazel Knighten Boozer; a daughter and son-in-law Jane and Don Williams of Birmingham; a son and daughter-in-law, Phil and Michele Boozer of Jacksonville; grandchildren, Staci Fifolt and her husband Matt of Leeds, Josh Williams and his wife Elizabeth of Birmingham, Chad Williams and Grant Williams of Birmingham, Magan Ellard and her husband Jeff of Mandeville, La., and Blake Boozer and Emi Boozer of Jacksonville; great-grandchildren, Sophie, Walker, and Eli Williams and Braden Boozer; a sister and brother-in-law Judy and Jim Douthit of Jacksonville; a sister-in-law, Marge Boozer of Fort Myers, Fla.; and several nieces and nephews.
Pallbearers were Josh Williams, Grant Williams, Chad Williams, Blake Boozer, Jeff Ellard, and Matt Fifolt.
His parents Ernest Talmadge and Bert Green Boozer, a sister, Johnnie B. (Duard) Green, brothers, William Boozer, Ellis (Katie) Boozer, and Reuben (Evelyn) Boozer, preceded him in death.
Mr. Boozer received a bachelor’s from Jacksonville State Teachers’ College, a master’s from Auburn University, and completed his doctoral studies at Peabody College (Vanderbilt). He served in the U.S. Army (Seventh Army) during World War II in the European and African theaters.
He served as superintendent of Calhoun County School System for 14 years (1963-77). He had also served as principal of Roy Webb Junior High School, Ohatchee High School, and Childersburg High School. He also served as principal at Madisonville High School in Kentucky. He was elected as Ohatchee’s first mayor in 1956.
Mr. Boozer was a long-time member, Sunday School teacher, and treasurer of the First Baptist Church of Williams. He was a member of numerous civic and educational organizations. He had a passion for his family and for gardening.
Memorial donations can be made to First Baptist Church of Williams, 5579 Nisbet Lake Road, Jacksonville 36265.
COOPER
Services for Jan Elizabeth Cooper, 62, of Radcliff, Ky., were at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 16, at Mill Creek Baptist Church in Radcliff. Dr. James Shaw officiated Burial was in Kentucky Veterans Cemetery Central in Radcliff. Nelson-Edelen-Bennett Funeral Home directed.
Mrs. Cooper died Saturday, April 12, at Hardin Memorial Hospital in Elizabethtown, Ky.
Survivors include her husband, Benjamin Leon Cooper Sr., of Radcliff; three sons and a daughter-in-law, Starling S. and Jill Ridgeway III of Woodbridge, Va., Charles W. Ridgeway of Bowling Green, Ky., and Benjamin L. Cooper Jr., of Radcliff; two grandchildren, Abigail and Ryan Ridgeway of Woodbridge, Va.; her parents, Otis and Martha Warren of Anniston; a brother, Jack E. Reynolds of Mableton, Ga.; and five sisters, Alice F. Howell, of Douglasville, Ga., Jan Day of Elijay, Ga., Connie Baker, of Anniston, Fain Geist, of Alexander City, and Christie Jones of Jacksonville.
Mrs. Cooper was a member of Mill Creek Baptist Church and a life member of the Military Order of Purple Heart Auxiliary. She retired from civil service work at Fort Knox as secretary for the adjutant general.
Her parents Charles W. Brown and Julia Mae Waldrep, two brothers, Charles L. Brown and Clarence L. Brown and a sister, Doris Ann Henderson preceded her in death.
DEMPSEY
Graveside services for Mona Kay Dempsey, 50, of Munford, were Wednesday, April 9, at Pleasant Ridge Cemetery. Usrey Brown-Service Funeral Home directed.
Mrs. Dempsey died April 8 at her home in Munford.
Survivors include her husband of 34 years, Danny Dempsey of Munford; two sons and a daughter-in-law, Daniel Dempsey of Munford and Scott and Sabrina Dempsey of Jacksonville; a daughter and son-in-law, Michelle and Brock Pate of Oxford; a sister and brother-in-law, Vickie and Wayne Conner of Oxford; three brothers and a sister-in-law, Guy Snider and Keith Snider of Eastaboga and Jeff and Emily Snider of Lincoln; a half-sister, Laura Jean Eaton of Eastaboga; a stepbrother, Gerald Pettis of Eastaboga; five grandchildren, Allison Dempsey, Mckala and Morgan Dempsey, Dylan and Madisyn Pate; two step-grandchildren, Emily and Jesse Lawson; a step-great-grandchild, Jaylan Lawson.
Mrs. Dempsey was a native of Calhoun County and a resident of Munford. She was of the Baptist faith and a homemaker. She was preceded in death by her mother, Edna Jewell Stewart Snider and brother, Mitchell Snider.
GLASS
Graveside services for Lois Ann James Haynes Glass, 66, were at 1 p.m. Monday, April 14, at Forestlawn Gardens. Gray Brown-Service Mortuary directed.
Mrs. Glass died Thursday at her residence.
Survivors include two daughters, Rebecca Delois Haynes of Weaver and Linda Dean Cole of Anniston; two sons, Edward Lee Haynes Jr., of Jacksonville and Troy McCury Haynes of Talladega; nine grandchildren, Nicholas Cole, Christopher Haynes, Bethany Haynes, Aaron Haynes, Rahne Hicks, Haley Haynes, Alex Cole, and Alexia Cole; a great-grandson, Luke Cole; a sister, Carol James; three brothers, Wallace James, Ray James, and Larry James; friend, Edward Lee Haynes Sr., and several nieces and nephews.
Pallbearers were members of the family and friends.
GOSS
William Ralph Goss, Sr., 61, died April 13 at his home.
Survivors include two sons, William Ralph “Bill” Goss, Jr., and Chad William Goss of Piedmont; six sisters, Ann Hill and Brenda Whorton, of Centre, Eva Barnwell and Janice Shell of Piedmont, Carol Martin of Jacksonville and Wanda Hobson, of Cedartown, Ga.; a brother, Alvin Goss of Piedmont; a grandson, Chase Goss and several nieces and nephews.
Mr. Goss enjoyed the outdoors, hunting and helping people. He served his country in the Vietnam war. His father William Hol Goss, his mother Marylee Hazel Smith Goss, and a brother Robert Goss preceded him in death.
PARKER
Services for Helen M. Parker, 83, of Owensboro, Ky., were at 10 a.m. Monday, April 14, at Glenn Funeral Home. Burial was in Owensboro Memorial Gardens.
Mrs. Parker died April 9 at her home.
Survivors include her husband of 62 years, B.H. Parker; a son, Garland Parker of Owensboro; a daughter and son-in-law, Carolyn and Dan Dunbar of Owensboro; two grandchildren, Chris Parker and his wife Jennifer and Kevin Parker and his wife Kellie; a great-grandson, Kaleb Parker; a sister, Flossie Parris of Jacksonville; a brother, Phil McDougal of Arab and several nieces and nephews.
Mrs. Parker was born May 31, 1924 in Piedmont to the late Oscar and Neely McDaniel McDougal.
She retired from Owensboro-Daviess County Hospital and was a member of First Baptist Church. She was a past matron and member of the Goel No. 104 Order of the Easter Star. She enjoyed crafts, especially making Christmas decorations and crocheting for others.
She was preceded in death by eight brothers and sisters.
Memorial donations can be made to Hospice and Palliative Care, 723 Harvard Drive, Owensboro 42301.
