Velma Virginia West Bankston

Funeral services for Velma Virginia West Bankston will beconducted at 10 a.m. on Thursday, April 5, 2007, at HermitageFuneral Home, 535 Shute Lane, Old Hickory, Tenn. The Rev. JohnKurtz, of Mt. Juliet, Tenn., and the Rev. Charles West, ofBreckenridge, Texas, will officiate.

Visitation with the family will be held on Wednesday from 4until 8 p.m. and on Thursday for one hour prior to the service atthe funeral home.

Mrs. Bankston, 81, of Hermitage, Tenn., succumbed to lung cancerand was welcomed home by the Lord on April 2, 2007.

She was born in Pleasant Hill and was a member of Pleasant HillBaptist Church in Copiah County. Mrs. Bankston, the Rev. JohnKurtz, and a few others were the founding members of Tulip GroveBaptist Church in Old Hickory, meeting in the cafeteria of DupontSenior High School on Tyler Drive before building and moving to thecurrent church location on Shute Lane.

Mrs. Bankston was a devoted and loving wife, mother andgrandmother. She lived her life as a Christian, walking in thefootsteps of the Lord.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Ernest Jasper West andMary Bailess West; her brothers, Carden Lychester West, ClydeCorrell West and Johnny Claude West; her sister, Mary ErnestineWest Gilliam, all of Mississippi; and her beloved friend, JoyceWilliams Johnson, of Hermitage.

She is survived by her husband of 52 years, James Ray BankstonSr.; daughter, Gloria Bankston Vaughan and husband Gary; her son,James Ray Bankston Jr. and wife Raeann; her grandsons, Erik ThomasVaughan and Brandon Ray Bankston, all of Nashville, Tenn.; her twinbrother, Delma Marion West and wife Lellen, of Hazlehurst; hersister, Burnita Hazel West Smith Thetford and husband Wendell, ofBrookhaven; and her seven wonderful nieces and nephews, as well asnumerous cousins and friends.

Pallbearers are Gerry Dye, Larry Vaughan, John Loviza, DanFoster, Richard Bradley and Ron Johnson.

Honorary pallbearers are Dr. Michael Mertens and staff, Dr.Douglas Waldo and staff, Marilee Dye, Rosemary Sharpe, thewonderful staff of Willowbrook Hospice, Bob Nance, Jack Gilbert,Rob Donahue, Charles Reeves, Ted Bowden, Cal Barstow, Joe Barstow,John Terrell and Larry Johnson.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the TennesseeSchool for the Blind, The American Cancer Society, or KatrinaRelief Fund of your choice.

Charlotte Broome

Services for Charlotte Broome, of Hazlehurst, were Saturday,March 31, at First Baptist Church of Hazlehurst with burial inHazlehurst City Cemetery. Community Funeral Services is in chargeof arrangements.

Mrs. Broome died March 29, 2007, at Hardy Wilson MemorialHospital. She was born on June 2, 1919, to Horace Beasley andVivian Slay.

She was a retired librarian and a member of the Daughters of theAmerican Revolution.

Preceding her in death were her parents and her husband, WillieAustin Broome.

Survivors are her sons and their wives, Randy and Kay Broome, ofColumbus, and Gerry and Cindy Broome, of Hazlehurst; and her twograndchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Memorials may be made to First Baptist Church of Hazlehurst.

Mitchell Lynn Marler

Services for Mitchell Lynn Marler, a native and lifelongresident of Copiah County, are 11 a.m. Wednesday, April 4, atSpring Hill Baptist Church with burial in the church cemetery.Stringer Family Funeral Services in Hazlehurst is in charge ofarrangements.

Visitation is Tuesday from 5:30 until 8 p.m. and on Wednesdayfrom 10 until 11 a.m. at the church.

Mr. Marler, 44, died April 2, 2007, at The University ofMississippi Medical Center in Jackson.

He was employed for several years with Georgia Gulf as a diemixer. He was an avid guitarist, hunter and drag racer. He was amember of Spring Hill Baptist Church.

Survivors are his parents, Fred and Harvine Marler, ofHazlehurst; his daughter, Michela Scott Marler, of Brookhaven; hisbrothers, Fred E. Marler Jr., of Brandon, Kenneth Marler, ofRockport, and Charles Marler, of Hazlehurst; and his five niecesand one nephew.