OBITUARIES PUBLISHED 4/19/2019

Ernestine Higginbotham

SHUQUALAK — Ernestine Coleman Higginbotham, 92, died April 17, 2019. Services will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at Butler Pentecostal near Shuqualak. Burial will follow at Butler Cemetery. Visitation is from 6-8 p.m. Friday at the... read more

Major William Pratt

Major William E. (Skip) Pratt, 79, passed away on Sunday, March 31, 2019, at his residence, with his wife and soulmate by his side. A Memorial Service will be Saturday, April 20, 2019, 12:00 PM at... read more

Mary Smith

COLUMBUS — Mary Lean Smith, 72, died April 12, 2019. Celebration of Life services will be at noon Saturday at the Kingdom Hall in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Visitation is from 3-6 p.m. Friday at Emerald... read more

Larry Jones

AMORY — Larry Gene Jones, 71, died April 17, 2019, at North Mississippi Medical Center Gilmore in Amory. Services are at 2 p.m. Friday at Cleveland-Moffett Funeral Home with Michael Easter and Robert Earl Fowlkes officiating.... read more

Robbin Glover

COLUMBUS — Robbin Lynn Glover, 56, died April 17, 2019, at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle. Arrangements are incomplete and will be announced by E. E. Pickle Funeral Home. read more

Dwight Baldwin Sr.

COLUMBUS — Dwight Baldwin Sr., 63, died April 12, 2019, at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. Services will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at Friendship M.B. Church with the Rev. Robert Lee Hamilton officiating. Burial... read more

Bennie Stewart

NOXUBEE — Bennie Mae Stewart, 79, died April 11, 2019, at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle. Services will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at Drake Hill M.B. Church in Brooksville with the Rev. Stephen Sykes officiating. Burial... read more

Hattie Parks

COLUMBUS — Hattie Mae Edwards Parks, 78, died April 14, 2019, at her residence. Services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Mt. Zion M.B. Church with the Rev. Joe L. Peoples officiating. Burial will follow... read more

Janet Davis

COLUMBUS — Janet Shanklin Davis, 49, died April 8, 2019, at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle. Services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at St. John Full Gospel Church in Macon with the Rev. Joseph Mickens officiating.... read more

Petonia Downs

MABEN — Petonia Downs, 89, died April 17, 2019, at her residence. Services are at 2 p.m. Friday at Calvert Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Terry Rhodes officiating. Burial will follow at Pheba Cemetery in... read more

Howard Langford

NOXUBEE — Howard Lee Langford, 61, died April 11, 2019, at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. Services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Running Water M.B. Church in Shuqualak with the Rev. Tyrone Ellis... read more

John Cowart Sr.

COLUMBUS — John T. Cowart Sr., 75, died April 14, 2019, at his residence. Services are at 2 p.m. Friday at Mt. Moriah Baptist Church in McShan, Alabama. Lowndes Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. read more

Bill Bradford

MILLPORT, Ala. — Bill Wayne Bradford, 82, died April 16, 2019, at his residence. Services will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at Dowdle Funeral Home Chapel. Burial will follow at Bradford Cemetery. Visitation will be one... read more

Johnny Jamison

MACON — Johnny Jamison, 47, died April 18, 2019, at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle. Arrangements are incomplete and will be announced by Lee-Sykes Funeral Home of Macon. read more

Howard Deforest Jr.

COLUMBUS — Howard Emerson Deforest Jr., 76, died April 19, 2019, at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle. Arrangements are incomplete and will be announced by Memorial Gunter Peel Funeral Home and Crematory, Second Avenue North location. read more

Ernestine Higginbotham

Annie Ernestine Coleman Higginbotham, age 92, passed quietly at her home Wednesday morning, surrounded by her loving husband of 76 years and her children. She entered through Heaven’s Gates on April 17, 2019. A funeral service... read more

LOCAL OBITUARIES

Howard Knight

Published: 4/18/2019

Howard Franklin Knight, 67, of Steens, MS, passed away Monday, April 15, 2019, at Baptist Memorial Hospital-GT, Columbus, MS. Visitation will be Friday, April 19, 2019, from 6-8 PM at Lowndes... read more

Virginia Logan

Published: 4/18/2019

Proverbs 31:28 — Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her. Virginia Banks Rogers Logan passed away peacefully at her home, in Steens, on Tuesday,... read more

William Bonner

Published: 4/18/2019

ALICEVILLE, Ala. — William “Buddy” Bonner, 70, died April 16, 2019, at Hospice of West Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Home Going Celebration services will be at 1 p.m. Saturday at the James... read more

Mary Miller

Published: 4/18/2019

WEST POINT — Mary Frances Miller, 90, died April 17, 2019, at Dugan Memorial Home in West Point. Graveside services will be at 10 a.m. Friday at Greenwood Cemetery with the... read more

Katie Franklin

Published: 4/18/2019

COLUMBUS — Katie P. Franklin, 96, died April 17, 2019, at her residence. Arrangements are incomplete and will be announced by Century Hairston Funeral Home of Columbus. read more

Cois Aldridge

Published: 4/18/2019

MILLPORT, Ala. — Cois Delmer Aldridge, 77, died April 16, 2019, at Druid City Hospital in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Services are at noon Thursday at Dowdle Funeral Home Chapel with Eric Flemming... read more

Myrtle Bittle

Published: 4/18/2019

MILLPORT, Ala. — Myrtle Smith Shelton Bittle, 81, died April 16, 2019, at her residence. Services will be at 2 p.m. Friday at Dowdle Funeral Home Chapel with Jeff Long officiating.... read more

John Matthews Jr.

Published: 4/17/2019

John Douglas Matthews, Jr., 66, passed away on Wednesday, April 10, 2019, at Specialty Hospital in Meridian. A visitation will be held on Wednesday, April 17, 2019, from 1:00-2:00 PM at... read more

Doris Miller

Published: 4/17/2019

ABERDEEN — Doris Marie Lamb Miller, 80, died April 15, 2019, at her residence. Services will be at 2 p.m. Friday at Aberdeen Friendship Baptist Church with Robert Earl Fowlkes officiating.... read more

Clyde Cook

Published: 4/17/2019

AUBURN, Ala. — Clyde Cook, 94, died April 14, 2019, at Oak Park Nursing Home in Auburn, Alabama. Services are at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday at Dowdle Funeral Home Chapel. Burial will... read more

James Butler

Published: 4/17/2019

VERNON, Ala. — James Earl Butler, 82, died April 15, 2019, at his residence. Services are at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Chandler Funeral Home Chapel with Joe Beckon officiating. Burial will... read more

Almarita Clark

Published: 4/16/2019

WEST POINT — Almarita Barkemeyer Clark, 85, died April 13, 2019, at Merit Health River Oaks Medical Center in Flowood. Memorial services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Calvert Funeral... read more

NEW YORK TIMES OBITUARIES

Geraldyn M. Cobb, Who Found a Glass Ceiling in Space, Dies at 88

She was as qualified as any man to be an astronaut and passed all the tests, but NASA wasn’t interested in sending women into space in 1961.

Lyra McKee, 29, Journalist; Killed Covering Northern Ireland Unrest

An author, speaker and gay-rights activist, she was shot during rioting on Thursday just after tweeting: “Derry tonight. Absolute madness.”

Sally O’Neill, Rights Worker in Central America, Dies at 68

Ms. O’Neill and a colleague, Ana Paula Hernandez, were killed in a car crash while gathering information on the political crisis in Guatemala.

Lorraine Warren, Paranormal Investigator Portrayed in ‘The Conjuring,’ Dies at 92

She and her husband looked into that famed house of spookiness in Amityville, and their cases turned into films.

Warren Adler, ‘The War of the Roses’ Author, Is Dead at 91

A late-blooming novelist, he had his greatest success with a comedy about a couple in a domestic free-for-all. It became a hit movie.

Gene Wolfe, Acclaimed Science Fiction Writer, Dies at 87

His four-book series “The Book of the New Sun” is considered one of the major works of the genre.

James W. McCord Jr., Who Led the Watergate Break-In, Is Dead at 93

He was the first to expose the White House crimes and cover-ups that led to President Nixon’s downfall. His death, almost two years ago, went unreported.

Monkey Punch, Cartoonist Who Created Larcenous Lupin III, Dies at 81

Born Kazuhiko Kato in Japan, he invented a manga character that has found fans worldwide and inspired film and television adaptations.

What They Left Behind: Legacies of the Recently Departed

Some gems from the life’s work of people remembered in obituaries in The New York Times.

Claude Lalanne, Whimsical (and Sought-After) Sculptor, Is Dead at 93

Her works, like a metal cabbage with chicken legs, weren’t taken seriously at first but now command lofty prices.

Dr. Richard Green, 82, Dies; Challenged Psychiatry’s View of Homosexuality

At a time when being gay was classified as a mental disorder, Dr. Green defied the advice of his colleagues and took a professional risk by arguing otherwise.