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Obituaries 11/22/18

Thomas R. “Tom” Brock


SARDIS—Thomas R. “Tom” Brock, 69 of Sardis, formerly of Batesville, passed away at his home on Wednesday, November 7, 2018.

Born January 21, 1949, in Ware Shoals, South Carolina, Tom was a son of the late Martha Hazel O’Dell Brock and Marvin Henry Brock. A former accountant for Thermos in Batesville, he proudly served his country in Vietnam with the United States Army.

Mr. Brock leaves his wife of 22 years, Brenda Brock of Sardis; three daughters, Martha Davis (Sam Raymond) of Batesville, Michelle Price (Will) of Water Valley, and Tamatha Walker (Benny) of Batesville; three sons, Russell Brock (Amanda) of Jackson, Jeffrey Brock (Jana)  of Oakland and Brian Davis of Batesville; 19 grandchildren; and 13 great-grandchildren.

The family is planning a memorial service to celebrate Mr. Brock’s life for a  later time. Dickins Funeral Home of Batesville is in charge of arrangements.


Charles Thomas Collier, Jr.


OXFORD—Charles Thomas Collier, Jr., 32, died Tuesday, November 13, 2018, in Oxford.

A memorial service was held Friday, November 16, at Oxford-University United Methodist Church at 5 p.m. with Rev. Eddie Rester officiating. Visitation was held prior to the service.

Born in Oxford, Charles was a son of Chuck and Stephanie Day Collier. He was a member of Oxford-University United Methodist Church. A graduate of Lafayette High School, he served in the National Guard for six years. He found great joy in hunting, fishing, football, golf and most outdoor activities. He was a wonderful, dedicated dad to his children and loved to laugh, being the instigator of many tricks.

Survivors  include  his wife, Lovie Edwards Collier of Oxford; daughters, Lillian and Quinn Collier of Oxford; a son, Cole Collier of Oxford; his parents, Chuck and Stephanie Day Collier of Oxford; sisters, Mary Hyland of Houston, Texas and Celie Collier of Oxford; three uncles; grandparents, Martha Day of Oxford and Butch Collier of Oxford; three nephews and one niece; and his in-laws, Norma Pullen of Water Valley; and Sammy and Angela Edwards of Water Valley.


Mary Alice Hayles

WATER VALLEY—Mary Alice Hayles, age 97, of Water Valley, died peacefully  Saturday, November 17, 2018, in Yalobusha County Nursing Home.

Born March 18, 1921, in Water Valley, she was a daughter of the late Marvin and Leither Rampey Dickey. Mary Alice had worked at People’s Wholesale for 15 years and then spent 40 years working at Big Yank Manufacturing. She enjoyed sewing, gardening and cooking. Mary Alice was a member of Woodland Hills Baptist Church, where she served the membership by cooking for numerous functions.

Visitation was held Tuesday, November 20, in the Appleton Room of Seven Oaks Funeral Home from noon until 2 p.m. The service began at 2 p.m. in the Henry Chapel of the funeral home with Bro. Freddie Moorman officiating. Burial was in Oak Hill Cemetery.

Survivors include one son, Butch Hayles (Tammy) of Water Valley; a daughter, Alice Faye Chittom (Brooks) of Brandon; six grandchildren, Melissa Sabin, Blake Hodge, Emily Hodge, Stephanie Saunders, Natalie McKee, and Amanda Pagels; nine great-grandchildren; three great-great-grandchildren; one sister, Hilda Dickey; and two brothers, Joe Dickey and Richard Dickey. 

Along with her parents, Mary Alice was preceded in death by  her husband of 66 years, William “Happy” Hayles; and four brothers, James Dickey, Wayne Dickey, Donald  Dickey, and Billy Mack Dickey.


Martha Perkins Smith

RIDGELAND—Martha Perkins Smith, age 78, died November 13, 2018, in the Arbor Nursing Home at Ridgeland.

Born November 19, 1939, Martha was a daughter of the late Ed Ray and Evelyn Tucker Perkins. She was married to Robert Gerald Smith, who  preceded her in death on February 18, 2018. She was a member of Brandon Baptist Church. Martha was the retired purchasing agent with Mississippi Department of Transportation.

Funeral services were  held at 11 a.m. on Friday, November 16, with visitation beginning at 9 a.m., before the service in Wright & Ferguson Funeral Home at Flowood. Burial followed in Lakewood Memorial Park at Jackson with Wesley Thompson, Ryan Thompson, Chad Moore, Hunter Moore, Jackson Alvarez, John Alvarez, Randy Boe, George Norfleet, and Tan Truong, as pallbearers.

Survivors include two daughters, Donna S. Broyles (Scott) of Little Rock, Ark., and Tanya S. Thompson (Allyn) of Brandon; one sister, Betty Perkins Davis (Al) of Water Valley; two brothers, John Perkins (Ruth) of Water Valley and Van Perkins (Linda) of Brandon; four grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. 

  In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to Brandon Baptist Church Building Fund, 100 Brandon Baptist Drive, Brandon, MS 39042.


Joyce Herron Tippery


BATESVILLE—Joyce Herron Tippery, age 57, passed away Tuesday, November 13, 2018, in the Panola Medical Center at Batesville. The funeral service was held at 11 a.m. Saturday, November 17, in the Martin Willingham Memorial Chapel of Wells Funeral Home with interment following in Forest Memorial Park. The family received friends two hours prior to the service.

Born February 21, 1961, in West Memphis, Ark., Joyce is a daughter of Rev. Reginald Leonard Herron and Sybil Cagle Herron. She was a caregiver who always put others before herself. She loved all animals she came into contact with. Joyce was a homemaker and a member of the former Rose Hill Baptist Church in Batesville.

Survivors include her daughter, Kimberly Harris Steel  of Arizona; two sons, Eugene James Harris of Sardis and David Earl Harris of Oklahoma; her mother, Sybil Cagle Herron of Batesville; two sisters, Laura Herron Robison and Kathy Herron True, both of Water Valley; three brothers, Pat Herron, Bob Herron, and Bill Herron, all  of Bateville; and eight grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her father, Rev. Reginald Leonard Herron; a son, Eddie Craig Harris; and one brother, Michael Wayne Herron.


M.B. “Snooky” Williams

WATER VALLEY – M. B. “Snooky” Williams, 87, of Water Valley passed away peacefully in his sleep at home on Tuesday evening, November 13, 2018. Snooky was born September 27, 1931, in the same one-story, white, wooden house in Williamsville, Miss. where his other six older siblings were born. Their home was located just across the road from the storied Williams Brothers General Store co-founded by Snooky’s father, Brown Williams, where the youngsters all worked. 

When he turned 17, Snooky enlisted in the National Guard and served with the 31st Infantry Division (Dixie Division), 198th Tank Battalion. After graduating Philadelphia (MS) High School, he attended the Marion Military Institute and then the University of Mississippi. He was active in the Kappa Alpha fraternity and the Reserve Officer Training Corps. At the 1953 Ole Miss graduation ceremonies, he was handed both a college diploma and a military commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 3rd Armored Division of the U.S. Army. 

Snooky rose to the rank of 1st Lieutenant and received an honorable discharge in 1955. He then moved to Water Valley and, with the munificent aid of his siblings, opened a new Stubbs Department Store with his brother Harold Williams. On one rare weekend break, Snooky traveled to Texas in 1957 to serve as a groomsman for a longtime friend. At the wedding of Dick and Barbara Hill (Baton Rouge), he met Mary Lou Murphy Lassen of San Angelo, Texas, a widowed mother of two young children serving as one of Barbara’s bridesmaids. Snooky and Mary Lou were married on June 21, 1958, and Water Valley’s population increased by three. They would later add another. 

Snooky’s various entrepreneurial activities on Water Valley’s Main Street spanned over 50 years and included successful roles as a storekeeper, merchant, hotelier, developer, insurance agent, and bank board chairman, involving businesses such as Stubbs Department Store, People’s Wholesale, Blackmur Hotel, Everett Cock Insurance Agency and the Mechanics Bank. He was active in Rotary International and the Chamber of Commerce. 

 Despite an otherwise ordinary setting and a simple lifestyle, Snooky inexplicably achieved a credible celebrity status that saw him pictured and quoted in various periodicals, ranging from local newspapers to national publications, such as the Oxford Eagle, Clarion-Ledger, Garden & Gun, Atlanta Magazine, National Geographic, and the New York Times. 

He is inherently and forever linked to the Neshoba County Fair, where his extended family gathers at The Williams Cabin 14 on Founder’s Square each year, and the Thacker Mountain Radio Hour in Oxford, which he and Mary Lou regularly attended and sponsored for years. 

Snooky was a good talker and listener, a small town Southern gentleman with a sweet and gentle spirit, church-going Baptist, tireless worker, good-natured prankster with a gleam in his eye, adopter of stray dogs, longtime proponent of paying it forward, and a rock-solid family man. He both collected and shared friends. 

 Snooky is preceded in death by his parents, Brown and Kate Williams; his siblings, Brown Williams, Jr., Kermit Williams, Helen Schneller, Janie Pickering, and Harold Williams; and a son, Paul Shelton Lassen. 

He is survived by his colorful wife of 60 glorious years, Mary Lou Williams; sister Pat Stubbs (96) of Holly Springs; daughter Charmie Lassen Weeks (Barry) of Water Valley; son, M. Binford (“Ben”) Williams, Jr. (Melissa) of Ridgeland; grandchildren, Angela Suzanne Weeks of Glenwood Springs, Colo., Paul Erich Lassen of Lincoln Park, Mich., Barry Matthew (“Matt”) Weeks (Leighanne) of Mandeville, La.; M. Binford (“Ford”) Williams III of Savannah, Ga., Morgan Murphy Williams of University, Miss.; great-grandchildren, William Walker Weeks and Mary Lassen Weeks; numerous cousins, nieces, nephews, and other kin; and a boatload of friends. 

Memorials may be sent to the Thacker Mountain Radio Hour (http://thackermountain.com/donate/). 

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