The Vicksburg Post publishes obituaries in news form for area residents, their family members and for former residents at no charge. Families wishing to publish additional information or to use specific wording have the option of a paid obituary.

Robert Henry Cummings

Services for Robert Henry Cummings will be at 11 a.m. Monday at St. Mary’s Catholic Church. Burial will follow at Cedar Hill Cemetery.

Visitation will be Sunday at Dillon-Chisley Funeral Home from 1 p.m. until 4 p.m.

Mr. Cummings died Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2005, at his home. He was 77.

Mr. Cummings was a veteran of the Navy, and he was a member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Basil Cummings Sr. and Bessie Mae Cummings, and a sister, Clara Ann Cummings.

He is survived by one brother, Basil T. Cummings Jr. of Vicksburg, and nieces, nephews and other relatives.

Pat Finnegan

NEWTON – Pat Finnegan died Thursday, Feb. 24, 2005, at Jeff Anderson Hospital in Meridian. He was 68.

Mr. Finnegan served six months in the U.S. Army in Jackson, S.C., and six years in the A-Battery First 114th Field Artillery of Bay Springs.

He retired after 40 years of service from Centerpoint Energy Entex, where he had worked as the Newton office representative for his last five years.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Jim and Cyrllis O’Flynn Finnegan, and brothers and sisters.

Survivors include his wife, Mamie McDevitt Finnegan of Newton; one daughter, Lisa Gorgas and husband, Dan, of Decatur; one son, Ronnie Finnegan and his wife, Susan, of Decatur; four grandchildren, Eli Finnegan, Zach Finnegan, Reagan Gorgas and Reed Gorgas, all of Decatur; one brother, Herman Finnegan of Rose Hill; three sisters, Velma Boswell of Rose Hill, Martha Burns of Hattiesburg and Sister Mary Theresa Finnegan, RSM, of Vicksburg; and nieces and nephews.

Services will be at 10 a.m. today at St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Paulding with the Revs. Richard Smith and Matthew Simmons officiating. Burial will follow at the church cemetery under the direction of Barham Funeral Home in Newton.

Pallbearers will be Joe Boswell, Charles Finnegan, Donald Kitchings, Douglas Kitchings, Jeff McDevitt and Bernard Theobald.

Memorials may be made to St. Michael’s Catholic Church Cemetery Perpetual Fund in Paulding.

James Hand III

James Hand III died Thursday, Feb. 3, 2005, in Nashville, Tenn. Born in Egremont, Miss., on Sept. 23, 1922, he spent most of his life in the Mississippi Delta. For the past nine years he had made his home in Nashville to be near his daughters, Nancy Hand Williams and Karen Hand Stevens.

He was preceded in death by his mother, Theresa Moore Hand; father, James Hand Jr.; and brother, Charles Moore Hand.

Mr. Hand graduated from Riverside Military Academy and attended the University of Alabama. He served in World War II in the 357th Infantry Regiment, landing on Utah Beach, D-Day +2. In 1946, he returned to Rolling Fork to join his father in farming operations. Throughout the next 50 years, Mr. Hand was active in community affairs, serving as town alderman, member of the Rotary Club, board member of Merchants Bank and president of Delta Council 1968-69. Yet, his greatest love was the Rolling Fork United Methodist Church.

Mr. Hand is survived by his sister, Kathleen Hand Carter (Rives); two daughters, Nancy Hand Williams (Hank) and Karen Hand Stevens; five grandchildren, Jay Schimmel (Denise), Laura Stevens, Katherine Hand Stevens Givens (Andrew), Hannah Wilkinson Dunlap (Warner), and James Hand Cameron Wilkinson, and two great-grandchildren, Caroline Schimmel and Jackson Dunlap.

Memorials may be made to the James Hand III Fund, c/o Rolling Fork Methodist Church, P.O. Box 3245, Rolling Fork, MS 39159; Mississippi Christian Family Services; Riverside Military Academy, 2001 Riverside Drive, Gainesville, GA 30501; Siloam Family Health Center, P.O. Box 41687, Nashville, TN 37204; or Alive Hospice, 1718 Patterson St., Nashville, TN 37203.

Henry Alvin Jolly

NEWELLTON – Henry Alvin Jolly died Friday, Feb. 25, 2005, at his home. He was 73.

Mr. Jolly was born in New Light, La. He was a farmer and a lifelong resident of Tensas Parish.

He was a U.S. Army veteran of the Korean War and was of the Baptist faith.

He was preceded in death by a sister, Myrtle Marie Hall; two brothers, Joe Everett Jolly Jr. and Bobby Wayne Jolly, both of Newellton; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Services will be at 2 p.m. Sunday at Crothers-Glenwood Funeral Home in Tallulah with the Rev. Ricky Jones officiating.

Burial will follow at Legion Cemetery.

Visitation will be at the funeral home from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. Saturday.

Blandine Gaunt Smith

Services for Blandine Gaunt Smith will be at 2 p.m. Monday at St. Mary’s Catholic Church. Burial will follow at Cedar Hill Cemetery.

Visitation will be Sunday at Dillon-Chisley Funeral Home from 1 p.m. until 4 p.m.

Mrs. Smith died Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2005, at her home. She was 91.

Born in Tallulah, Mrs. Smith was a Chicago resident and had lived in Vicksburg for a number of years. She was a member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Matthew and Lucinda Gaunt; eight sisters; and two brothers.

She is survived by nieces, nephews and other relatives, including Debra Buchanan and DeLesselyn Broom, both of Vicksburg.