The Vicksburg Post prints 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.

Merinda Laura Turner Coleman.

Services for Merinda Laura Turner Coleman will be at noon Saturday at Mount Zion M.B. Church No. 1 with the Rev. Larry Brown officiating. Burial will follow at Cedar Hill Cemetery. Visitation will be from 7 until 8 tonight at W.H. Jefferson Funeral Home.

Mrs. Coleman died Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2006, in Jackson. She was 87.

A retired sales clerk at The Valley department store, Mrs. Coleman was a member of Mount Zion M.B. Church No. 1.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Percy Coleman; her parents, James Turner and Eva McCoy; a brother, James Turner; and a sister, Johnnie Bernice Turner.

She is survived by three daughters, Shirley Coleman Harris and Johnnie Bernice Johnson, both of Vicksburg, and Jeanie Coleman Washington of Jackson; a sister, Alma Turner of Natchez; four grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and other relatives, including Jeanie Coleman of Lake Providence.

Eddie Sue Folk.

TALLULAH – Funeral services for Eddie Sue Folk will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Trinity Episcopal Church of Tallulah with the Rev. Paula Claire Hall officiating. Burial will follow at Silver Cross Cemetery. Visitation will be from 5 until 7 tonight at Crothers-Glenwood Funeral Home in Tallulah.

Mrs. Folk died Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2006, at Olive Branch Senior Care Center in Tallulah. She was 78.

Born in Vicksburg, Mrs. Folk had been a resident of Lake Providence. She was a member of Trinity Episcopal Church in Tallulah.

She is survived by a son, Jim Folk Jr. of West Monroe, La.; four daughters, Carol Folk LaHitte of Pass Christian, Yancy Folk Hodge of Tallulah, Ann Folk Blacklock of Katy, Texas, and Laura Folk Mitchell of Mount Juliet, Tenn.; and 11 grandchildren.

Grandsons will serve as pallbearers.

Mildred C. Hall.

Mildred C. Hall died Thursday, Dec. 28, 2006, at River Region Medical Center. She was 89.

A lifelong resident of Vicksburg, she was the daughter of the late Lee and Lena Bliss Cooper. For 30 years, she had been a nurse and had been employed at the former ParkView Regional Medical Center. She was a member of Vicksburg Church of Christ.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Dan Newt Hall Sr.; two brothers, Robert Luther Cooper and Jimmy Hancock; and two sisters, Martha Culver and Della Harrell.

She is survived by a son, Dan Hall Jr. and wife, Jean, of Bovina; three daughters, Dorothy Breland of Vicksburg, Jayne Dew and husband, Ed, of Yazoo City, and Gayle Barber and husband, Steve, of Vicksburg; two brothers, J.D. Smith of Lucedale and J.W. Smith of Tuscaloosa, Ala.; a sister, Edna McIntosh of Laurel; 11 grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren; and caretaker and friend, Machelle Stewart of Vicksburg.

Services will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at Frank J. Fisher Funeral Home Chapel with Brother Reggie Crawford officiating. Burial will follow at Green Acres Memorial Gardens. Visitation will be from 1 p.m. Saturday until the hour of service at the funeral home.

Pallbearers will be James Hall, Chuck Hall, Randy Hall, Brook Carraway, Ron May and Aubrey Haley.

Elberstein Johnson.

DETROIT – Elberstein &#8220Stein” Johnson died Monday, Dec. 25, 2006, at Beacon Shire Nursing Home in Detroit. He was 78.

Mr. Johnson served in the Vietnam War. He was a member of Jackson Street M.B. Church.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Charlie Johnson and Mabel Maxey Johnson; and a brother, Harrison &#8220Hark” Johnson.

He is survived by a son, Elbert Blackwell; a daughter, Tracy Johnson of Detroit; a sister, Charley M. Johnson of Vicksburg; and other relatives, including the Maxey, Williams, Marshall, Milton and Burnside families, all of Vicksburg.

O.H. Pye Funeral Home in Detroit has charge of arrangements.

Condolences may be sent to Charley M. Johnson, 1864 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Vicksburg, MS 39180.

Willie Lewis III.

REDWOOD – Willie &#8220Bill” Lewis III died Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2006, at River Region Medical Center. He was 66.

Mr. Lewis was a retired employee of Cooper Lighting. He was a member of Mount Zion M.B. Church on Ballground.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Willie Lewis Jr. and Luellen Dolly Lewis; and a brothers, Henry Hill Sr.

He is survived by his wife, Pauline G. Lewis of Redwood; a son, Robert Lee Lewis of Phoenix; four daughters, Gloria Hall of Vicksburg, Merry Smith of Hutto, Texas, Ilean Linzy of Vicksburg and Lou Ellen Lewis of Brandon; two brothers, Joseph Floyd Lewis Sr. of Redwood and Wardell Lewis of Kankakee, Ill.; two sisters, Ellen Jean James and Mary Alice Albert, both of Vicksburg; and 19 grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren, and other relatives, including the Dolly, Jones, Fisher, Carson and Truly families of Vicksburg.

Services will be at 2 p.m. Sunday at Mount Zion M.B. Church on Ballground with the Rev. Charlie Blackmore officiating. Burial will follow at the church cemetery. Visitation will be from 6 until 7 p.m. Saturday at W.H. Jefferson Funeral Home.

Theresa J. McKewen.

Theresa J. &#8220Sister” McKewen died today, Dec. 29, 2006, at River Region Medical Center. She was 74.

A homemaker, Mrs. McKewen was of the Baptist faith.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Henry &#8220Rip” Mc-Kewen Sr.; her parents, William Jackson and Eliza Wiggins; a son, Robert E. &#8220Stick Man” Payne Jr.; three brothers, Don P. Jackson, Richard Jackson and Robert Jackson; and a sister, Lillian Whitley.

She is survived by two sons, Leon A. Williams Jr. and Henry McKewen Jr., both of Vicksburg; six daughters, Sheila Williams, Sharon Ratliff, Charlene McKewen, Tangela Williams-Ward, all of Vicksburg, Josephine Smith of St. Louis, Mo., and Vernell &#8220Bonnie” Young of Camarillo, Calif.; two brothers, Kensie Martin of Detroit and Alverson &#8220Al” Jackson of Grand Rapids, Mich.; and 14 grandchildren; and other relatives, including Verna Means of Vicksburg and Willie Mae Thomas of Port Gibson.

W.H. Jefferson Funeral Home has charge of arrangements.

William Riley Presley.

William Riley Presley died Thursday, Dec. 28, 2006, at his home. He was 71.

Born in Dalark, Ark., Mr. Presley was the son of the late James W. Presley and Eva Ward Presley. He was a resident of Vicksburg since 1967. He was a power plant operator for International Paper Company retiring in 1987, after 35 years of service. He was a member of Southside Baptist Church where he served as a Sunday school teacher, training union director and the Benevolence Ministry Team.

He was preceded in death by two brothers, Ralph Presley and John Presley.

He is survived by his wife, Bernice H. Presley of Vicksburg; a daughter, Deborah Presley-Brown of Vicksburg; three sons, Tony Jackson of Vicksburg, Jeff Jackson of Tulsa, Okla., and David Jackson of Woodstock, Ga.; 11 grandchildren; three sisters, Laurine Langley of Dalark, Evelyn Porter of Sparkman, Ark., Marie Caddy of Bismark, Ark.; and a brother, Thomas Presley of Rosenberg, Texas.

Services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Southside Baptist Church with the Rev. Greg Clemts officiating. Burial will follow at Cedar Hill Cemetery. Visitation will be from 5 until 7 tonight at Riles Funeral Home and from 10 a.m. Saturday until the hour of service at the church.

Memorials may be made to Southside Baptist Church, 95 Baptist Drive, Vicksburg, MS 39180.

Pallbearers will be the Men of Southside Baptist Church.

Honorary pallbearers will be Dr. Paul W. Pierce III, Dr. Abdul G. Bahro and members of the men’s Sunday school class at Southside Baptist Church.

Doris Erwin Sanders.

Doris Erwin Sanders died Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2006, in Vicksburg. She was 90.

Born in Marion, Va., Mrs. Sanders had lived in Vicksburg since 1953. She served as justice of the peace. She was a member of First Baptist Church and Eastern Star.

She is survived by her son, Leslie Edward Taylor of Bluffton, S.C.; three grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Visitation will be at 9 a.m. Saturday with a memorial service at 10 at Fisher Funeral Home with Dr. John G. McCall officiating.

Ora Lee Scott.

CARY – Ora Lee Scott died Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2006, at Sharkey-Issaquena Hospital in Rolling Fork. She was 41.

Mrs. Scott was a Cary resident.

She is survived by two sons, Herman Scott and Christopher Scott, both of Cary; one daughter, Gloria Kate Scott of Cary; her father, Nora Brown of Cary; her mother, Katie Rowland of Cary; three brothers, Barney Armstrong, Cornelious Armstrong and Lee Dell Smith, all of Cary; and two sisters, Margaret Buckner of Rolling Fork and Debra Phoenix of Fitler.

Services will be at 1 p.m. Saturday at Mount Zion M.B. Church in Cary. Burial will follow at Cary Community Cemetery.

A wake service will be from 6 until 7 tonight at Walker Funeral Home in Rolling Fork.

Catherine Faust Simmons.

BATON ROUGE – Religious services for Catherine Faust Simmons were at noon Thursday at Rabenhorst Funeral Home Chapel, located at 825 Government St.

Visitation was from 11:30 a.m. Thursday until the hour of service. The Rev. Milford Walters officiated the services. Interment followed at Greenoaks Memorial Park.

Mrs. Simmons died Sunday, Dec. 24, 2006, at Baton Rouge General Medical Center-Bluebonnet in Baton Rouge, La. She was 90.

Mrs. Simmons was a resident of Baton Rouge and a native of Oxford, Miss. She was a longtime member of Grace Baptist Church.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 48 years, Perry E Simmons.

She is survived by two sons, Tommy Simmons and wife, Donnie, of Denham Springs, and Rick Simmons of Baton Rouge; a sister, Gloria Lee of Oxford, Miss.; two grandchildren, Rhonda Simmons of Denham Springs and Kathy Cobb of New Orleans; a great-granddaughter, Ashley, of Boise, Idaho; and other relatives, including Dr. Frank and Joyce McPherson of Vicksburg.

Honorary pallbearers were Dick Prestridge, Bill Mathews, Rock Reed, Frank McPherson, Bill Coxe and Bill Cathey.