Ruth Walker Lovell

Ruth Walker Lovell, 50, of Geneva, Ala. passed away Friday, Aug. 3, 2007.

Visitation will be from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Monday, Aug. 6 at Selma Funeral Home.

Graveside services will be held Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2007, at 10 a.m., officiated by Rev. Joe Britton and directed by Selma Funeral Home.

Mrs. Lovell is survived by her husband Paul Lovell; daughter Carol (Kevin) Ludlam, grandchildren, Lindsey and Jack Ludlam, her sister Mary (John) Miles and special friends James and Lynn Cook.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Jack and Louise Walker.

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Deacon Horace Gray, Jr.

Deacon Horace Gray, Jr., age 79 of Forkland, Ala. passed July 31, 2007, at Bryan Whitfield Hospital, Demopolis, Ala.

Funeral Services will be held Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2007, at 1 p.m. at the Ebenezer Baptist Church, Forkland, Ala.

The Rev. Dr. William M. Branch will officiate.

Interment will follow in the adjoining cemetery.

Public viewing will be held Tuesday from 3-7 p.m. at the funeral home.

Larkin & Scott Funeral Directors of Demopolis, Ala. entrusted with arrangements.

George A. &8220;Cap&8221; Swift

George A. &8220;Cap&8221; Swift passed away Saturday, Aug. 4, 2007, in a local hospital.

Visitation will be from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., Monday, Aug. 6, 2007, at Lawrence Brown-Service Funeral Home.

Funeral Services will be held at First Presbyterian Church Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2007, at 11 a.m. Interment will follow at New Live Oak Cemetery.

Known for his love and promotion of Selma, he was owner and operator of the Crossroads Visitors Information Center for almost twenty years, most of which with his late wife, Elizabeth. Failing health caused him to retire in Jan. 2007.

In High School he organized a dance orchestra, Cap Swift and the Troubadors, that played locally and throughout the state from 1938 to 1940. In the summer months the orchestra played throughout Florida.

While attending Auburn University, he joined Kappa Alpha Fraternity and managed the Auburn Plainsmen Dance Band, with which he also played bass fiddle. He was a co-president of the freshman class of 1941.

As a veteran of World War II, serving in the U.S. Marine Corps, he was a strong supporter of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

After leaving military service, Swift became a fixture on Broad Street for many years at Swift Drug Company, where he was a partner with his father W. P. Swift and his brother W. P. Swift, Jr. in the family business which is still

in operation today. He opened many business ventures including the Toy Arcade in 1957 which pioneered an all toy store in the area and later the first Radio Shack in the state of Alabama.

In 1952, he helped organize the Selma Jaycees with 113 members. He and his long-time friend, the late Red Adams, helped start the committee of 100 Plus which resulted in the location of Hammermill to the area. In 1964 he was elected to the Selma City Council where he served two terms as well as eight years on the Selma Water Board.

He helped organize the Downtown Development Corporation to try to save The Hotel Albert, but in 1968 it closed and the Wilby Theater and the Selma Del burned, never to reopen.

In these early years, he was active at First Presbyterian Church, where he served as Deacon.

From 1977 to 1987 he was the Executive Director of the Selma-Dallas County Chamber of Commerce. He received the prestigious award &8220;The Book of Golden Deeds&8221; from the Selma Exchange Club and the State Tourism Award. He was &8220;Mr. Selma&8221; to many, spending his later years at the Visitor’s Center providing information to travelers about the City and people he loved.

He was married to the late Lillian Johnson of Selma, until her death in 1968. He was preceded in death by his second wife of thirty years, Elizabeth B. Davidson, who passed away in 1999 and by his grandson Michael Swift of Lake Charles, LA.

He is survived by his children; George (Pat) Swift of Lake Charles, La., Sheryl (Jim) Balkom of Pensacola, Fla., Benny (Brenda) Davidson of Hoover, Elizabeth Diane Fulmer of Clanton, Jimmy (Kay) Davidson of Selma, Nancy (Lonnie) Autery of Valley Grande, Steve (Tammy) Davidson of Selma, 24 grandchildren and 31 great-grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials to be made to First Presbyterian Church of Selma or to a Selma museum.