Gulfport, MS - Graveside services for MARY G. BICKLEY will be held at 2 p.m., Saturday, November 15, 2003 at Forest Park Cemetery, St. Vincent Avenue. Officiating will be Dr. Larry Williams, Minister of Senior Adults at Broadmoor Baptist Church. Visitation will be 10 a.m. until noon, Saturday, November 15, 2003 at Rose-Neath Marshall Street Funeral Home. Mrs. Bickley was born May 20, 1925 in Ashley County, AR and died Tuesday, November 11, 2003 in Gulfport, MS. She was a Baptist and a retired bookkeeper. Her husband, Eugene Burt Bickley and sister, Lota Blair preceded her in death. Survivors are her son, Eugene B. Bickley, Jr. of North Augusta, SC daughter, Janet Bickley Sabel of Diamondhead, MS grandchildren, Marlana Rose, Matt, Brad and Regan Bickley sister, Gail Vaughan of Austin, TX and brother, George Roland Gifford, Jr. of Atlanta, GA. The family suggests memorials may be made to Alzheimer's Association Inc., Northwest LA Chapter, 520 Olive Street, Shreveport, LA 71104. Rose-Neath Funeral Home Marshall St. Chapel, 222-0348 .  --Times, The (Shreveport, LA) - November 14, 2003.


BONITA, LA--ALTON L. "BRAD" BRADFORD, 77, of Bonita, LA, formerly of Crossett died Thursday, December 30, 1999, at the Morehouse General Hospital in Bastrop, LA. Born October 20, 1922, to John and Lexer Hamaker Bradford in Banks, he was a district manager and appraiser for Interstate Life Insurance Company and a member of the VFW, AARP and Underwriters' Association. He served four years in the U. S. Army during World War II and was a member of the Egypt Baptist Church. He was preceded in death by five brothers and three sisters.
Survivors include his wife of 56 years, Beatrice Woods Bradford of Bonita; a son, Kevin Lee Bradford of Oklahoma; a daughter, Helen Ruth Boyd of Lufkin, TX; three brothers, H. L. and James Bradford of Houston, TX, and Donald Bradford of Waskem, TX; a sister, Mary Mercer of Rison; eight grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
Funeral services were at 2 p.m. Sunday, January 2, in the Jones Funeral Home chapel in Crossett with Rev. Farrell Breshears officiating. Pallbearers were Earl Murphy, Keith Mercer, Joey Mercer, Jefferey Moore, Keith Breshears, James Ed. Woods, Marvin Holmes and Nick Martin. Burial followed services at Pinewood Memorial Park.   --Ashley County Ledger, Hamburg, AR, contributed by Kim Torp.


CROSSETT, ARK--PAULINE PAGE BROOKS, 57, of Crossett died Sunday, January 2, 2000, at the Ashley County Medical Center. She was born in Crossett March 3, 1942, to Charlie J. and Bill Slocum Page and was a member of the First Baptist Church, a homemaker and enjoyed being with people and working with flowers in her yard. She was preceded in death by her sisters, Coleen and Janie Page.
Survivors include her husband, Charles Brooks of Crossett; a son, Lance Hanry of Crossett; two daughters, Lynn Lochala and Stacy Dolan of Crossett; and two sisters, Martha Hoffman of Farmerville, LA, and Charlene Morris of Crossett.
Funeral services were planned for 2 p.m. Tuesday, January 4, in the Jones Funeral Home chapel in Crossett with Buddy Kinney, Gene Thomas and Bob Vest officiating. Pallbearers were to be Brick Morris, Steve Courson, Mike Flemister, Lois Hodges, Jim Shoulders, Eugene Davis and Mark Reed. Burial was to follow services at Pinewood Memorial Park.   --Ashley County Ledger, Hamburg, AR, contributed by Kim Torp.


HAMBURG, ARK--MRS. EDITH BROWN, 93, of Hamburg died Thursday, January 13, 2000, at the Beverly Health Care Center in Hamburg. Mrs. Brown was a native and life-long resident of Hamburg, a homemaker and a member of the First Baptist Church and the Eastern Star. She was preceded in death by her husband, Ray Brown, in 1984; a daughter, Bettye Hobbs in 1993; two grandsons, David Ray Brown and Greg Brown; and her parents, John and Martha Sedberry Hill.
Survivors are five sons, Cecil Brown of Farmerville, LA, Bill Brown of Bastrop, LA, Bobby Brown of Little Rock, Jimmy Brown of Clarksville, TX and John Brown of Cupertino, CA; nine grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren and one great-great-granddaughter.
Funeral services were held at 2 p.m., Saturday, January 15 at the First Baptist Church with Dr. Bobby Pennington and Rev. Klois Hargis officiating. Pallbearers were Mike Brown, Charlie Spencer, Dierke Hobbs, Richard Byrd, Dennis Byrd and Milton Raulston. Interment was at the Hamburg Cemetery under the direction of Jones Funeral Home of Hamburg.   --Ashley County Ledger, Hamburg, AR, contributed by Kim Torp.


BASTROP, LA--MRS. FRANCES MARTIN BROWN, 72, of Bastrop, LA, died Monday, March 16, 2000, at the Morehouse General Hospital. She was a retired cafeteria superintendent of St. Joseph's Catholic School and a member of Bonnie Idee Assembly of God. She was preceded in death by her parents and a great-grandson, Christopher Chance Tate.
Survivors include two daughters, Nencia Sue Johnson and Rebecca Ann Diel; three sons, Richard Lamar Boykin, Kenneth Bryant Tate, and Terry Wayne Tate Sr.; one sister, Patricia Ann Roberts; four brothers, Jesse Elvin Martin, Clyde Thomas Martin, James Paul Blocker, and Joe Albert Blocker; a stepson, sixteen grandchildren, David Boykin, Deborah Jonin, Lucinda Tate, Jason Tate, Kenneth Tate, Angela Tate, Dustin Tate, Dewey Diel, Tabitha Eppinalle, Danny Diel Jr., Rebecca Brakefield, and Lona Page; three step-great-grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, Kimberly Diel, T.J. Tate, and Malcolm Tate.
Funeral services were at 10 a.m., Thursday, March 16, at the Golden Chapel in Bastrop with Rev. Jerry Stuckey officiating. Grave-side services followed at 1 p.m. at the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery near Hamburg. Pallbearers were Mike Fussell, Dardell Bostic, Louis Maddock, Greg Cheek, Jerry Bryan, and Ronnie White.   --Ashley County Ledger, Hamburg, AR, contributed by Kim Torp.


ALOHA, LA--J.W. BUCKNER was born December 16, 1907 in Aloha, LA to the late Martin Luther Buckner and Martha Elizabeth Murrell Buckner. He departed this life on Sunday, January 2, (2000) while at his home, 705 Oak Street, Crossett, AR. He was 92.
Bro. Buckner, as most people knew him, married Dorothy Idella Luker in 1929. They had five children: Martha Elizabeth, Martin Luther, James Luker, John Wordy, Jr. and Dorothy Ann. Dorothy died in 1952. Bro. Buckner later married Juanita Rainwater of Crossett, adopting her daughter Eunice Helen.
Bro. Buckner received his high school diploma from Poland High School in Rapides Parish, LA. He graduated with a B.A. degree from Louisiana College in Pineville in 1932 where he was a member of the college championship debate team. He did graduate work in theology at the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary the following two years. He received a Master Degree in History from Northeast Louisiana University in Monroe. He later served on the History faculty at Northeast Louisiana University and the University of Central Arkansas in Conway.
Bro. Buckner was an active minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ for 65 years, serving as pastor of churches in Louisiana and Arkansas. Buckner was also known as a stewardship evangelist for many years. As a Southern Baptist minister, Bro. Buckner was recognized as a church builder. He was pastor during fund-raising and construction of numerous new church buildings. As a gesture to him as a church builder, Bro. Buckner was awarded an honorary "Doctor of Church Architecture" on April 23, 1951, by the First Baptist Church of Crossett.
Bro. Buckner served on many boards and commissions of the Louisiana and Arkansas Baptist Conventions. He was a co-founder (1951) and first moderator of the Ashley County Baptist Association in Arkansas.
In addition to his pastoral duties, he was always active in community affairs. He was President of the Crossett High School Parent-Teachers Association in 1955, an active member of the Crossett Chamber of Commerce for many years as well as being a member of the Lions and Kiwanis Clubs of Crossett. He was selected as Kiwanis Club Man of the Year in 1977 and 1979, elected President of the Crossett Lions Club in 1985-86 and elected a delegate to the Arkansas Constitutional Convention in 1979, serving on the Suffrage and Elections Committee.
He was a 50-year member of the Masonic Lodge, Grand Chaplain of Grand Lodge of Free & Accepted Masons of Arkansas, 1967-68. On the occasion of eclipsing 60 years in the ministry, Governor Bill Clinton designated August 4, 1985, as J.W. Buckner Day in Arkansas. Another J.W. Buckner Day was designated by Ashley County Judge Don Hartley and Mayor Les Black on the occasion of his 85th birthday.
In 1993, he was inducted into his alma mater Poland High School (LA) Hall of Fame for Lifetime of Achievements. Gov. Jim Guy Tucker presented Bro. Buckner with an Arkansas Certificate of Recognition for Public Service on December 14, 1995. He received the Centennial Award of Appreciation from Fist Baptist Church and the City of Jonesboro, LA in 1996. He was awarded the Rotary International Foundation Paul Harris Fellowship. Bro. Buckner was elected the first president of the Ashley County Chapter of AARP in 1987-88. He led in establishing an endowment fund for the Friends of the Paul Sulllins Library in Crossett.
Bro. Buckner was a noted historian of Crossett and Ashley County. He authored Wilderness Lady in 1979 which is a history of Crossett and Ashley County. He later wrote Cap Gates Tent City in 1983, a history of his beloved home of Crossett.
Bro. Buckner was a quiet, friendly man who smiled and spoke kindly to everyone he saw. The memory of Bro. Buckner will live in the hearts and minds of everyone who ever knew him. Bro. Buckner is survived by his wife of 46 years, Juanita; 3 daughters, Martha Arrington of Monroe, LA, Dottie Clark of Guatemala and Helen Wright of Crossett; 3 sons, Luther Buckner of Murphreesboro, TN, Jim Buckner of Fayetteville and Wordy Buckner of Springfield, MO, as well as 26 grandchildren and 40 great-grandchildren.
Funeral services will be conducted at the First Baptist Church of Crossett at 10:00 a.m., on Wednesday, January 5 with Dr. David Newberry officiating. Interment will take place at Pinewood Memorial Park Cemetary immediately following. Arrangements under the direction of Jones Funeral Home of Crossett.   --Ashley County Ledger, Hamburg, AR, contributed by Kim Torp.


PARKDALE, AR--MRS. MATTIE BURGESS, 82, of Parkdale, died Wednesday, March 8, 2000, at the Beverly Health Care Center in Hamburg. Mrs. Burgess was a native of Wilmot, a resident of Parkdale for most of her life, a homemaker, and a member of the Parkdale United Methodist Church. She was preceded in death by her parents, Bishop & Effie Simons Matheny; a sister and a brother.
She is survived by her husband, Houston "Red" Burgess of Parkdale; a daughter, Barbara Boyce of Van Alstyne, TX; a brother, Boyd H. Matheny of Powell, TN; a sister, Laura Maxwell of Crossett; a grandson, Mike A. Lamberth of Austin, TX; two great-grandsons, Rayan & Dylan Lamberth and a host of nieces and nephews.
Funeral services were at 3 p.m., Friday, March 10, in the chapel of Jones Funeral Home of Hamburg with Rev. John Henley officiating. Pallbearers were Ralph Sewell, Louis Burgess, Ricky Maxwell, Charles Burgess, Sammy Burgess and Mike Lambert. Interment followed services at the Parkdale Cemetery, directed by Jones Funeral Home of Hamburg.   --Ashley County Ledger, Hamburg, AR, contributed by Kim Torp.


RICHLAND, WA--NELLE D. BYRD, 93, died September 3, 1999, at Richland, WA. Born in Hamburg, August 3, 1906, to Herbert and Stella Wells Davis, she moved to the Tri Cities area of Washington with her husband in 1944. She worked for the Office of Price Administration during World War II and then worked for the Richland School District until she retried in 1971. She was very involved with the Richland Senior Citizens Center and the Senior Companion Program and was a member of the VFW Women's Auxiliary and the Richland Baptist Church. She was preceded in death by her husband, Raymond Byrd, in 1965.
Survivors are her children, Betty S. Arey and husband Ted of West Richland, James R. Byrd and wife Catherine of Tucson, AZ, Michael J. Byrd and wife Lynn of Richland and Judy B. Kophs and husband Stan of Richland; 12 grandchildren, Bruce, Sean and Marc Arey, John and James Byrd, Kelly Stell, Matthew, Michael and Mary Kylie Byrd, Dawn Simmelink and Christopher and Jaime Hawkins; 13 great-grandchildren, two sisters, Mable Foote and Hazel Lewis; and a brother, Herbert Davis.
Grave-side services were held in Sunset Memorial Gardens in Richland.   --Ashley County Ledger, Hamburg, AR, contributed by Kim Torp.