Tennessee, U.S., Delayed Birth Records, 1869-1909
Walter Earl Topps, 49, of Memphis, employee of Labor Ready, died Sunday at the Regional Medical Center at Memphis. Memorial services will be at 4 p.m. Saturday at Harrison's Funeral Home Orange Mound Chapel. He was a graduate of Memphis Catholic High School and Georgia State University and attended Oglethorpe College. He leaves a daughter, Daphne S.K. Topps of Tuskegee, Ala.; a son, Walter Earl Topps Jr., and a sister, Avis Topps, both of Memphis, and a brother, Avery Topps of Austin, Texas.
[Death notice dated April 27, 2005]
William Andrew Townsend, 85, of Memphis, died April 20 at Methodist University Hospital. Services will be at noon today at Greater Kansas Baptist Church, where he was a member, with burial in Union Hill cemetery. Millington Funeral Home has charge. He leaves two daughters, Louise Madison of Memphis and Lorece Johnson of Chicago; a son, Bobby Joe Townsend of Holly Springs, Miss., 10 grandchildren and 39 great-grandchildren.
[Death notice dated April 27, 2005]
Brownsville -- Ruby Escue Bishop, 89, retired store clerk, died Tuesday at Haywood Park Community Hospital. Services will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at Brownsville Funeral Home with burial in Brownsville Memorial Gardens. She was a member of Marvin Chapel United Methodist Church. Mrs. Bishop, the widow of Fred Bishop, leaves a daughter, Barbara Ann Bishop, and a son, Walter L. Bishop, both of Brownsville; a sister, Jane Spencer of Birmingham; a brother, Silas Escue of Brownsville, and a grandchild.
[Death notice dated April 27, 2005]
Gates -- Dorothy Wood Hargrove, 82, retired special education teacher, died Monday at Jackson-Madison County General Hospital. Services will be at 2 p.m. Friday at Halls Funeral Home with burial in Halls cemetery. She was a member of Halls First United Methodist Church and Alpha Delta Kappa sorority and a former president of United Methodist Women. Mrs. Hargrove, the widow of Grady Hargrove, leaves two daughters, Nancy Thrash of Gates and Bette Davis of Indianapolis, four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. The family requests that any memorials be sent to Habitat for Humanity or West Tennessee Hearing and Speech Center.
[Death notice dated April 27, 2005]
Ripley -- Glory Dean Burns, 63, homemaker, died Thursday at Mount Sinai Hospital in Milwaukee. Services will be at 1 p.m. Thursday at Northwest Funeral Home in Milwaukee with burial in Graceland cemetery there. Currie's Funeral Home in Henning has local charge. She leaves two daughters, Mary Louise Burns of La Vergne and Lillie V. Watkins of Milwaukee, and three brothers, James Thomas Burns of Clarksville, Harold Burns of Milwaukee and Robert Burns Jr. of Buffalo, N.Y.
[Death notice dated April 27, 2005]
Ripley -- Beatrice Davis Estes, 79, homemaker, died Monday at Decatur (Ill.) Memorial Hospital. Services will be at noon Saturday at St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church in Henning with burial in Bethlehem cemetery there. Currie's Funeral Home in Henning has charge. Mrs. Estes, the widow of Willie James Estes, leaves six daughters, Ethel Newbern, Gladys McNeary, Annie Ruth Estes and Debra Estes, all of Decatur, Denise Estes of Ripley and Patricia Estes of Chicago; five sons, Steve Estes of Decatur, Willie Fred Estes and Jerry Wayne Estes, both of Ripley, Barry Davis of Whiteville and Marshall Jones of Cape Girardeau, Mo.; a sister, Margaret Collier of Memphis, 38 grandchildren, 44 great-grandchildren and four great-great-grandchildren.
[Death notice dated April 27, 2005]
Ripley -- James Glenn Mills, 90, retired farmer, died Monday at Dyersburg Regional Medical Center. Services will be at 2 p.m. today at Garner Funeral Home with burial in Ripley Memorial Gardens. Mr. Mills, the widower of Maudie Velma Mills, leaves two daughters, Glendene Bridges of Halls and Betty L. Kirkpatrick of Ripley; two sisters, Mary Younger and Flossie Holcomb, both of Ripley, three grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
[Death notice dated April 27, 2005]
Savannah -- Joseph Ellis Robinson, 56, retired riverboat captain, chief executive officer of Savannah Barge Co. and owner of Yellow Creek Cement, died Tuesday at Hardin Medical Center. Services will be at 3 p.m. Friday at Shackelford Funeral Home with burial in Neill cemetery in Hardin County. He was a Marine Corps veteran. Mr. Robinson, the husband of Delois Young Robinson, also leaves a daughter, Ashley Michelle Robinson, and a son, Jeffrey McNeal Vanhoose, both of Savannah; five sisters, Karen Looney, Sharon Crawley, Dola Mae Bivins, Carol Hunter-Jones and Mary Dionne; a brother, James Robinson, and two grandchildren
[Death notice dated April 27, 2005]
Somerville -- Cecil Belgium Hamm, 74, formerly of Memphis, retired painting contractor for Holiday Inn Corp., died Monday at Bolivar Community Hospital. Services will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at Peebles Fayette County Funeral Home with burial in Evergreen cemetery in Williston. He was a Baptist. He leaves two daughters, Regina Allen of Medon and Kellie Allen of Hornsby; a son, Trent Hamm of Patterson, La.; a sister, Marvilene Logan of Bartlett, five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. The family requests that any memorials be sent to the American Heart Association Fayette County Chapter.
[Death notice dated April 27, 2005]
Birtha Lee Bates, 63, of Memphis, homemaker, died Tuesday at Methodist University Hospital. Services will be at 11 a.m. Monday at N.J. Ford & Sons Funeral Home with burial in Union cemetery. Mrs. Bates, the wife of Johnny Lee Bates, also leaves five daughters, Jeanette Newby-Newman, Geneva Thomas and Josephine McGhee, all of Memphis, Bertha Watson of Chicago and Boner Ford of Bakersfield, Calif.; two sons, Johnny Lee Bates Jr. of Memphis and Arthur Newby Jr. of Chicago, 27 grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren.
[Death notice dated April 29, 2005]
Audrey Braddock, 82, of Germantown, homemaker, died Wednesday at The Pointe at Kirby Gate. Services will be at noon Saturday at Memorial Park Funeral Home with burial in Memorial Park. She was a member of Faith Presbyterian Church, where she was a former Sunday school teacher and former president of Women of the Church. Mrs. Braddock, the widow of Edgar F. Braddock, leaves two daughters, Jane Braddock Sipes and Betty Gladding, both of Germantown, six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. The family requests that any memorials be sent to the Diabetes Association.
[Death notice dated April 29, 2005]
Bertha M. Bradshaw, 82, of Memphis, employee of National Bedding, died Wednesday at Methodist University Hospital. Services will be at noon Saturday at Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church, where she was a member of Pastors Aide Committee, Elizabeth Snow Sunday School Class and the Birthday Club, with burial in Memphis Memory Gardens. E.H. Ford Mortuary Services has charge. Mrs. Bradshaw, the widow of Willie B. Bradshaw, leaves two daughters, Isabella Hailey and Ollie Bradshaw, both of Memphis; three sons, Jimmy Lee Bradshaw of Mound Bayou, Miss., and John Edward Bradshaw and Tyrone Bernard Bradshaw, both of Memphis, 19 grandchildren, 45 great-grandchildren and four great-great-grandchildren.
[Death notice dated April 29, 2005]
Clarence Lee Brown, 59, of Memphis, tile finisher, died April 21 at his home. Memorial services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Family Mortuary. He leaves two daughters, Sharon Yarbrough of Memphis and Sophia Holloway of Houston; two sons, Cedric Brown of Oceanside, Calif., and Reginald Brown of Austin, Texas; his mother and stepfather, Henrietta and C.D. Parks of Memphis; his father, Willie Brown of Baton Rouge, La.; a sister, Eula Brown of Memphis; two brothers, James Brown of West Point, Miss., and Mack Brown of Harvey, Ill., nine grandchildren and a great-grandchild.
[Death notice dated April 29, 2005]
Majorie Raymond Coleman, 94, of Roanoke, Va., formerly of Memphis, retired founder of Coleman-Etter Fontaine Realtors, died Tuesday in Roanoke. Services will be at 11 a.m. Monday at Idlewild Presbyterian Church, where she was a member, with burial in Memorial Park. Canale Funeral Directors has charge. She was a member of Memphis Area Association of Realtors Board of Directors, Memphis Junior League and Memphis Women's Club, a former president of Memphis and Tennessee Women's Council of the Real Estate Boards, Les Passees, Tuesday Study Club and Memphis Chi Omega Alumnae and attended Gulf Park College and Rhodes College. Mrs. Coleman, the widow of Flavel Woodrow Coleman Jr., leaves two daughters, Majorie Coleman Mastin of Roanoke and Mary Jane Coleman Garrett of St. Simons Island, Ga.; a son, Flavel Woodrow Coleman III of Tampa, Fla., three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. The family requests that any memorials be sent to Idlewild Presbyterian Church or Les Passees.
[Death notice dated April 29, 2005]
Reginald Dewayne Cooperwood, 52, of Memphis, former counselor for Shelby County Jail, died Tuesday at Methodist University Hospital. Services will be at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Mount Gillead Ministries with burial at 9:30 a.m. Monday in Calvary. N.J. Ford & Sons Funeral Home has charge. He was a member of Providence AME Church and a volunteer counselor for Juvenile Court. He leaves a daughter, Joy Cooperwood; two sons, Chaunson Cooperwood and Marcus Cooperwood, and his parents, Mary Louise and Jack Cooperwood, all of Memphis; two sisters, Beverly Cooperwood of Memphis and Brenda Byrns of Nashville; two brothers, Michael Cooperwood and Larry White, both of Memphis, and four grandchildren.
[Death notice dated April 29, 2005]
Richard S. Crider, 57, of Memphis, mechanic for Frito-Lay, died Wednesday at his home. Services will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at Shelby Forest Baptist Church, where he was a member, with burial in Northridge Woodhaven cemetery in Millington. Northridge Woodhaven Funeral Home has charge. Mr. Crider, the husband of Gwendolyn C. Crider for 35 years, also leaves a son, Samuel E. Crider of Southaven; six sisters, Myrtle Hastings of Olive Branch, Mable Cook of Southaven, Mary Brock of Millington, Martha Crider and Minnie Crider, both of Memphis, and Marie Crider of New Jersey; five brothers, Joe Junior Crider and Daniel Crider, both of Memphis, W.T. Crider of Houston, Bob Bateman of Somerset, N.J., and Tom Bateman of New Jersey, and three grandchildren. The family requests that any memorials be sent to Shelby Forest Baptist Church Benevolent Committee.
[Death notice dated April 29, 2005]
Taywan Gray Dawson, 11, son of Sheila Gray and Allen Dawson Jr. of Memphis, student at Westwood Elementary School, died Saturday in Memphis. Services will be at 1 p.m. Saturday at Cane Creek Baptist Church with burial in Forest Hill cemetery Midtown. Superior Funeral Home has charge. He was a member of Westwood Coact Police Program. He also leaves two sisters, Sherria Franklin Dawson and Naketa Franklin Dawson; two brothers, Allen Sherrod Dawson and Allen Demorio Dawson, and his grandparents, Glorius Dawson and William L. Gray.
[Death notice dated April 29, 2005]
Louise Jean 'Teenie' Freeman, 51, of Memphis, counselor and student at the University of Memphis, died Tuesday in Memphis. Services will be at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Rock of Ages Church of God in Christ on Perry, where she was an usher board member, with burial in New Park cemetery. N.J. Ford & Sons Funeral Home has charge. She leaves a daughter, Zakiya F. Freeman; a son, Hanee F. Freeman, and two sisters, Zadie Lee Jefferson and Felicia Diane Young Smith, all of Memphis.
[Death notice dated April 29, 2005]
James Earl Griggs, 48, of Memphis, press helper for Dieco Products, died Monday at Methodist University Hospital. Services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at New Mount Erie Missionary Baptist Church on Sardis, where he was a male chorus member and deacon-in-training, with burial in Elmwood. Harrison's Funeral Home Orange Mound Chapel has charge. He leaves two sons, Jermaine Deshun Griggs and Travis M. Parker; two sisters, Velma Marie Coleman and Darlene Griggs, and two brothers, Rev. Bobby Griggs and Melvin Davis Griggs, all of Memphis.
[Death notice dated April 29, 2005]
