Obituaries for Sunday, March 2, 2008
Published 12:00 am Sunday, March 2, 2008
Mr. Willie Bonner
Mr. Willie Bonner, 61, of Selma, AL died February 27, 2008 at RHC,
Meridian, Mississippi.
Funeral services are scheduled for Monday, March 3, 2008 at Miller&8217;s Funeral Home Chapel and officiated by Joshua Davis.
Burial will be in Elmwood Cemetery and directed by
Miller Funeral Service. Inc.
Survivors include spouse, Ora Belle Bonner, one son, David Savage, 2 daughters, Janice Bonner Lee and Beverly Bonner, 1 sister Ethel Kinnerson; 4 grandchildren; 1 son-in-law; 3 brothers-in-law; 3 sisters-in-law; a host of nieces and nephews, 2 aunts and 1 uncle.
Pallbearers will be nephews.
Jeanne C. Gidwitz
Jeanne C. Gidwitz, 89, of Highland Park, our Southern Belle, born August 23, 1918 in Selma, AL to the late Isaac G. and Grace H. Cadden.
Beloved wife of the late Ed-ward S. Stern and the late Victor E.
Gidwitz; dear mother of
Tom (Sandee) Stern and Betsy (Steve) Engelman; cherished grandmother of Laurie (Eric) Hyman & Lesley (Arlo) Guthrie and Josh, Jane & Katie Engelman & Karen (John) Storms-Rohn; very proud great-grandmother of Jared & Zane Hyman.
Services private.
Donations to the charity of your choice.
For info please call Kelley and Spalding Funeral Home at (847) 831-4260 or www.kelleyspaldingfuneralhome.com
Ella Davis House
Ella Davis House, age 87, of Tuscaloosa, formerly of Selma, passed away Friday, February 22 following a brief illness.
She was preceded in death by her parents Thomas Luther and Susan Eddie Wright Davis, granddaughter Michelle Kelley Rhian, brother Hoyed Davis and sister Vonciel Davis.
She is survived by her husband of 65 years Lamar (Jerry) House, daughter Marcia Kelley (Eddie), granddaughter Nicole Nolen (Bill), and her precious great- grandson William Nolen, all of Tuscaloosa.
She is also survived by her brother Clint Davis (Mary Helen) of Montgomery, brother-in-law Donald House of Tuscaloosa, sister-in-law Mary El-len Davis of Albany, Georgia and nieces and nephews.
Mr. Isaiah Ivory
Mr. Isaiah Ivory, age 57 of Demopolis, Alabama passed February 28, 2008 at his residence.
Funeral Services will be held Sunday, March 2, 2008 at 2:00 p.m. at Larkin & Scott Funeral Chapel.
Interment
Freehope Cemetery, Boligee, Alabama.
Larkin & Scott Funeral Directors of Demopolis, Alabama directing.
Flora Rebecca Langston
Ms. Flora Rebecca Langston, age 89 of Selma, passed away Saturday March 1, 2008 at her home.
Graveside services will be held on Monday March 3, 2008, at New Live Oak Cemetery with Barry Langston officiating and Lawrence Brown-Service Funeral Home directing.
Ms. Langston is survived by her son, James J. &8220;Pete&8221; (Donna) Langston, two daughters, Sally Langston and Bennie (Stanley) Sanders, six grandchildren, ten great-grandchildren, and five great-great-grandchildren.
Honorary pallbearers will be grandchildren, Barry Langston, Chad Langston, Ryan Langston, Brandon Langston, Karin Vaughn, and Shannon Brown
The family will receive friends on Sunday March 2, 2008 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the funeral home.
William &8220;Bill&8221; King
William &8220;Bill&8221; King, 60, died Friday, Feb. 29, 2008, at a local hospital.
Funeral services will be announced at a later date by Lewis Brothers Funeral Home Inc.
Marion Elizabeth Harrell
Marion Elizabeth Harrell (nee&8217; Johnson,) better known to her wide array of friends as &8220;Jonnie,&8221; passed away quietly Feb 28. It was one of the very few things she did quietly during her 91 years.
Born in the rough logging town of Thief River Falls, Minn., Jonnie&8217;s full life saw much challenge and much happiness.
Graduating from high school in Devil&8217;s Lake, S.D., she went on to attend Bethesda Hospital School of Nursing in Saint Paul, Minn. She later earned a postgraduate degree in obstetrics from the prestigious Johns Hopkins School of Nursing in Baltimore, Md.
While putting those degrees to good use, she was shocked, along with the entire nation, by the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.
Not long after, the chance sighting of a notice on a Nurses&8217; Quarters bulletin board announcing the formation of the first squadrons of flight nurses got her into the &8220;fight.&8221; Joining other volunteer nurses, she became a member of the 803rd Air Evacuation Squadron and sailed out of San Francisco for parts unknown. Once at sea, the nurses learned their destination would be India, and they would be supporting the tough fighting of Gen &8220;Vinegar Joe&8221; Stillwell&8217;s soldiers as they cut the Burma Road across the formidable Himilayan Mountains.
Jonnie flew 50 combat hours, transporting American wounded and enemy prisoners in a C-47 aircraft. She more than earned her Air Medal.
During this busy and dangerous time, Jonnie also found the opportunity for a bit of socializing and met the &8220;love of her life&8221; in, then, Major Bill Harrell, commander of the nearby 80th Fighter Squadron, the &8220;Burma Banshees.&8221; Bill and Jonnie truly had a &8220;romance in the skies&8221; and married soon after they returned stateside in April 1945.
Jonnie left active duty, and she and Bill enjoyed a wonderful 33- year career in the US Air Force ending with their retirement in Montgomery in 1973.
Jonnie wasted no time in making Montgomery &8220;her place.&8221; Through The Retired Officers&8217; Wives Club, The Retired Officer Association, Lady Kiwanians, Red Cross Volunteers, and Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, later Messiah Lutheran Church, she made her presence and her spirit known throughout the community.
She always had time to collect for the Cancer Society or to man the Information Booth at the Alabama State Fair or just to visit with friends or neighbors who were having challenges in their lives. She never tired of cooking the &8220;birds&8221; Bill brought home from the country or frying the catfish he caught during the long Alabama summers. Along the way, she earned the respect and friendship of mayors, city councilmen, and pastors, as well as folks she met at the Base Pharmacy, the Base Exchange, or the Farmer&8217;s Market.
Jonnie was not only a dedicated and supportive wife, but the mother of three children.
She managed 18 moves and as many homes. She survived typhoons in the Phillipines, tornadoes in Kansas City, and blizzards in Montana. She adjusted to life in a
stucco mansion complete with gardener and a one-level ranch house, so small the dining
room furniture barely left room for the diners.
She planted countless gardens she never saw grow to fruition and supported school projects she never saw completed.
She was a Room Mother, a Wives&8217; Club President, a Well Baby Clinic technician, and a gracious hostess &8212; making it all look easy as she went.
She learned early that self-sufficiency and independence are key to a successful life and installed these traits in her children. She is survived by Cynthia S. Harrell, Esq. of Montgomery, William S. Harrell, Col., USAF, Ret. and wife Mary D. Harrell, of Dayton, Ohio, and Elizabeth A.
Harrell Grisoli, Maj. Gen. USAF, Ret. and her husband William T. Grisoli, Maj. Gen., U.S.A., of Fort Belvior, Va. She is also survived by grandsons, William S. Harrell, Bryan C. Harrell, Mathew D. Harrell, and Kevin S. Harrell.
She was predeceased by her husband of 61 years, William S. Harrell, Maj. Gen. USAF, Ret.
We will miss you, Mom. You were truly a &8220;force of nature&8221; throughout your life. You never thought &8220;can&8217;t,&8221; and you never let us think it either. You shared that &8220;ain&8217;t we got carnival&8221; spirit of your grandmother until the day you died, and we have that to carry with us in your absence. You were, until the end, one &8220;Great Gal.&8221;
Visitation will be at Leak-Memory Chapel on Monday, March 3, from 3:00 until 5:00 p.m.
A Celebration of Life Memorial will be held at Messiah Lutheran Church, 6670 Vaughn Road on Tuesday, March 4, at 10:00 a.m., followed by a graveside service at Greenwood Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in her name to Messiah Lutheran Church.