The Vicksburg Post prints obituaries for residents, former residents and residents’ immediate family members who resided elsewhere when notified by a family member or a funeral home. There is no charge for printing an obituary, but all are edited to meet the newspaper’s requirements.

Melvin Branch

Services for Melvin Branch will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at Bright Morning Star M.B. Church. Burial will follow at Cedar Hill Cemetery under the direction of Dillon-Chisley Funeral Home.

Visitation will be from 10 a.m. until the service Thursday at the church.

Mr. Branch died Sunday, June 29, 2003, at River Region Medical Center. He was 69.

Mr. Branch was a lifelong resident of Vicksburg.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Sidney Mae Woods Branch; his parents, Willie Branch and Hattie Plummer; and two brothers, Johnnie Carey and Isaac William Branch.

Survivors include four sons, Stanley Woods and William Branch, both of Vicksburg, Charles Woods of Bloomington, Ill., and Joseph Branch of Greenwood, Miss.; five daughters, Cherylene Woods, Lila Branch, Flora Shorter, Vicky Humphrey and Delores Hubbard, all of Vicksburg; three sisters, Bobbie Booze Yates, Annie Mae Goodman and Leola Carey, all of Vicksburg; grandchildren; nieces and nephews; and other relatives.

John Elvin Brandon

JACKSON John Elvin Brandon died Sunday, June 29, 2003, in Port Gibson. He was 43.

A resident of Jackson, Mr. Brandon was a graduate of Port Gibson High School and Tougaloo College. He was a member of the Tougaloo Alumni Association and was employed with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality in Computer Operations.

He is survived by his wife, Willie Ann Brown Brandon of Jackson; a son, John Elvin Brandon II of Jackson; a daughter, Jessica Ann Brandon of Jackson; his parents, Alonzo and Marjorie Brandon of Port Gibson; four brothers, Ernest K. Brandon of Detroit, Carl R. Brandon of Port Gibson, Dennis L. Brandon of Vicksburg and Willie M. Brandon of St. Louis, Mo.; three sisters, Vivian Brandon of Port Gibson, Maxine B. Johnson of Desoto, Texas, and Annie L. Tate of St. Louis.

Services will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at China Grove M.B. Church in Port Gibson. Burial will follow at McKay Cemetery under the direction of Williams Funeral Service in Port Gibson.

Visitation will be from 5 until 7 tonight at the funeral home.

Horace Viven Butler

STARKVILLE Horace Viven Butler died Monday, June 30, 2003, at Mississippi State Veterans Home in Kosciusko. He was 76.

A native of Sturgis, Mr. Butler lived in Vicksburg for 45 years before moving to Starkville. He was a retired switchman for Illinois Central Railroad in Vicksburg and was a member of Calvary Baptist Church.

He was preceded in death by his parents, two brothers and three sisters.

He is survived by his wife, Mildred Speed Butler of Starkville; a son, Larry Joe Butler of Vicksburg; a daughter, Pat Johnson of Philadelphia, Miss.; one brother, Melvin Butler of Sturgis; two sisters, Hilda Jemison of Meridian and Ann Wooten of Natchez; and one granddaughter, Elizabeth Johnson Weeks of Brandon.

Services were at 11 a.m. today at Welch Funeral Home in Starkville with the Rev. Lawrence Runnels officiating. Burial followed at Curtis Chapel Cemetery.

Memorials may be made to the Palmer Home for Children.

Lizzie Clifton

Lizzie Clifton died Tuesday, July 1, 2003, at River Region Medical Center. She was 90.

A resident of Vicksburg, Mrs. Clifton was a homemaker and a member of the Baptist faith.

She was preceded in death by her husband, William Washington.

Survivors include a sister, Doreatha Hardy Jordan of Vicksburg; five nephews, Arthur Jordan, Robert Jordan, Henry Jordan, James Jordan and Andrew Jordan, all of Vicksburg; five nieces, Walterine De Bouse, Mary Huntley, Rosie Jordan, Doreatha Ross and Annie Ross, all of Vicksburg; and other relatives and friends, including Louis Brown and Essex Brandon, both of Vicksburg.

Robbins Funeral Home has charge of arrangements.

Roosevelt Daniels Jr.

Services for Roosevelt Daniels Jr. will be at 1 p.m. Thursday in the chapel at W.H. Jefferson Funeral Home. Burial will follow at Cedar Hill Cemetery under the direction of Dillon-Chisley Funeral Home.

Visitation will be until the service Thursday at the funeral home.

Mr. Daniels died Sunday, June 29, 2003, at his home. He was 59.

Mr. Daniels was a native and lifelong resident of Vicksburg and had worked for Anderson-Tully for the past 15 years.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Roosevelt Daniels Sr. and Christine Daniels; his grandmother, Beatrice Lyles; and his grandfather, Eddie Wheatley.

Survivors include five sons, Kenneth Daniels, Maurice Daniels and Eric Davis, all of Vicksburg, Roosevelt D. Daniels of Texas and Derrick Nicholson of Port Gibson; four daughters, Chrystal Daniels, Keidre Daniels and Vanessa Shelton, all of Vicksburg, and LaKesha Harris of Jackson; four sisters, Doris Davis, Leevonia Reed, Sarah Cage and Emma Lewis, all of Vicksburg; and other relatives and friends, including Cindy Daniels and Zeanette Eatmon, both of Vicksburg.

Bessie Howard

Bessie Howard died Sunday, June 29, 2003, at River Region Medical Center. She was 73.

A resident of Vicksburg, Mrs. Howard was a former housekeeper for Mercy Hospital. She was a church mother at Rose Hill Baptist Church.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Revel Howard; a daughter, Mizella Cook; and two brothers.

Survivors include five sons, John L. Nixon, Allen Price, Norman Price, Roy N. Nixon and Jerome W. Nixon, all of Vicksburg; two daughters, Jessie Mae Johnson of Vicksburg and Joe Ann Reese of Detroit; a sister, Ida Mae Bingham of Vicksburg; 20 grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren; and other relatives.

Robbins Funeral Home has charge of arrangements.

Anna T. Lodge

EDWARDS Anna T. Lodge died Monday, June 30, 2003, at Central Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. She was 87.

Ms. Lodge was a resident of Edwards.

Visitation will be from noon until 8 p.m. Thursday at Lakeview Funeral Home.

Brize A. Scott

Brize A. Scott died Monday, June 30, 2003, at River Region Medical Center. She was 39.

Mrs. Scott was a member of Grove Street M.B. Church.

She was preceded in death by her father, John Thomas III; a daughter, Brenda Yarbrough; her maternal grandparents, Willie and Emily Tanner; and her paternal grandmother, Brize Tigue.

She is survived by her mother, Willie Yarbrough of Vicksburg; two sons, L.J. Scott and Michael J. Scott, both of Vicksburg; a sister, Debra Kent of Vicksburg; her paternal grandfather, John T. Yarbrough II of Memphis; and other relatives and friends, including Tracy Kent of Vicksburg, Annie Mary Tigue of Memphis and Corine Elam of Atlanta, Mich.

Williams Funeral Service has charge of arrangements.