March 6, 2008

Published 12:00 am Thursday, March 6, 2008

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.

Jesse Mae Anderson

Services for Jesse Mae Anderson will be at noon Saturday at W.H. Jefferson Funeral Home. Burial will follow at Cedar Hill Cemetery. Visitation will be from 6 until 7 p.m. Friday at the funeral home.

Email newsletter signup

Sign up for The Vicksburg Post's free newsletters

Check which newsletters you would like to receive
  • Vicksburg News: Sent daily at 5 am
  • Vicksburg Sports: Sent daily at 10 am
  • Vicksburg Living: Sent on 15th of each month

Mrs. Anderson died Sunday, March 2, 2008, at Vicksburg Convalescent Home. She was 83.

Mrs. Anderson was born in Tchula. She was a homemaker.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Louis Anderson; her mother, Leona Clark; one brother, Willie Burden Sr.; one sister, Rosie L. Page; and her father.

Survivors include one son, Willie L. Burden; one brother, Leonard Boyd of Augusta, Ga.; one sister, Dorothy Lee White of Chicago; and other relatives.

Levi Crawford Sr.

ROLLING FORK — Levi Crawford Sr. died Thursday, Feb. 28, 2008, in Rolling Fork. He was 65.

Mr. Crawford is survived by his wife, Verna Patrick Crawford of Rolling Fork; one son, Levi Crawford of Phoenix, Ariz.; four daughters, Charmaine Crawford and Shanterrica Michael, both of Rolling Fork, Tiffaney Bolden of Anguilla and Alicia Black of Phoenix; one sister, Louella Bell of Rolling Fork; two brothers, Leory Crawford Jr. of Lebanon, Tenn., and Willie Cole of Jackson; 13 grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; and other relatives, including Fannie Ivory of Rolling Fork.

Services will be at noon Saturday at United Baptist Church in Fitler with the Rev. Willie Joiner officiating. Burial will follow at Fitler Cemetery. A wake service will be from 6 until 7 p.m. Friday at Walker Funeral Home in Rolling Fork.

Annie Mae Dorsey

Annie Mae Dorsey died Tuesday, March 4, 2008, at River Region Medical Center. She was 91.

Mrs. Dorsey was a retired caretaker and former employee of Marie’s For Fashions for a number of years. She was a member of Bright Morning Star Baptist Church and a longtime resident of Vicksburg.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Charley and Emma Johnson; two sons, Charles Dorsey and Jimmie Lee Dorsey; her sister, Geneva Dixon; and two brothers, Dave Johnson and Charlie Johnson.

She is survived by four sons, Eddie L. Dorsey and Wash Dorsey III, both of Vicksburg, Johnny L. Dorsey of Clarksville, Tenn., and Bobby L., Dorsey of Texarkana, Texas; two daughters, Freddie B. Brown of Texarkana and Ada M. Harris of Vicksburg; 20 grandchildren; 35 great-grandchildren; and eight great-great-grandchildren.

Services will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at Bright Morning Star M.B. Church with the Rev. Reginald Harris officiating. Burial will follow at Cedar Hill Cemetery. Visitation will be from 1 until 6 p.m. Friday at Lakeview Memorial Funeral Home with family present from 5 until 6.

David Wayne Garrett

Services for David Wayne Garrett will be at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at W.H. Jefferson Funeral Home with Johnny Gilmore III officiating. Burial will follow at Cedar Hill Cemetery.

Mr. Garrett died Tuesday, March 4, 2008, at University Medical Center in Jackson. He was 45.

Born in Vicksburg, Mr. Garrett was a 1980 graduate of Warren Central High School. He was a cashier for Kangaroo Stores. He was of the Baptist faith.

He was preceded in death by his mother, Thelma Garrett Jefferson; his paternal grandparents; and his maternal grandparents, Bertha Trisby and Johnny Myles.

Survivors include a daughter, Angel Haggan of Vicksburg; his father, Joseph Jefferson Jr. of Vicksburg; two brothers, Donald James Garrett of Vicksburg and Alvin Ray Garrett of East St. Louis, Ill.; seven sisters, Shirley Garrett Swartz, Sandra Garrett Brown and Brenda Garrett Free, all of Vicksburg, Patricia Garrett Gilmore of Jackson, Penny Garrett Woodberry of Raymond, Lucy Garrett Jones of Columbus, Ga., and Susan Garrett Neal of Cordova, Tenn.; three grandchildren; and nieces, nephews and other relatives, including Levertia Harris of Chicago and Anester Hall of Vicksburg.

Robert Andrew Holstead Sr.

TALLULAH — Funeral services for Robert Andrew “Racer” Holstead Sr., age 81, will be held on Saturday, March 8, 2008, at 3 p.m. at Tallulah Academy in Tallulah with visitation at the school on Friday evening from 5 until 7.

Known as Coach to generations of players and students, Racer Holstead was born Jan. 29, 1927, in Ruston, La., and died Tuesday, March 4, 2008, at the Madison Parish Hospital. Given the nickname of “Racer” at Hillcrest Grammar School when he outran all the children chasing the merry-go-round at recess, Coach Holstead graduated from Ruston High School where he was an outstanding athlete and quarterback under his mentor, Coach Hoss Garrett. After service in the Navy during World War II, he attended Louisiana Tech University on scholarship where he lettered in baseball and football and received his baccalaureate degree in education. After several summer sessions in the Big Eight semi-pro baseball league where he played for the Ruston Rebels and received the highest batting average award, he began his long, illustrious coaching career in Plaquemine, La., in 1949. He served as assistant football coach and head coach for baseball and basketball for four years. He won the first basketball state championship at Plaquemine High School in 1952. In addition, while at Plaquemine, he won his bride of 57 years, the former Lillie “SeSe” Jumonville. In 1953, he moved to Jena where he coached for two years and earned a state runner-up title in basketball. In 1955, he moved to Tallulah for his first head football coaching job, where he claimed four state football championships in the years between 1958-1962. During his 14 years at Tallulah High School, his teams also won six district titles. In 1970, he moved to Tallulah Academy where, for the next three decades, he was headmaster, head football coach and athletic director. With his long-time assistant coach I.T. Crothers, he won four state championships as well as five state runners-up and 13 district titles in football. He also won two state championships in golf. During his 48 years of coaching, 42 as head football coach, he achieved an impressive career record. With his 287th career victory, he moved into the top spot as the winningest high school coach in Louisiana. His cumulative coaching record of 309-146-8 ranks him 66th nationally among high school coaches. Other numerous honors that have established him as a coaching legend include his 1991 induction into the Louisiana High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame, his 1995 induction into the Louisiana Tech University Athletic Hall of Fame, and his 2002 induction into the All-American Football Foundation. He was a past president of the LHSAA, one of the key organizers, and the first athletic commissioner of the Louisiana Independent School Athletic Association and was presented a special commendation of merit from both houses of the Louisiana Legislature. Above all, Coach Holstead valued the many awards from his fellow coaches who remained his staunchest friends and supporters, respecting his integrity as a competitor and his nobility of character. Coach Holstead was also named national Scholastic Coach of the Year and will long be remembered for his dedication to academics, which taught his players and students to be winners in life.

He is survived by his wife, SeSe; four daughters, Alexis Holstead Thompson and her husband, Bud, Heidi Holstead Mayeaux, Chere Holstead Bourgeois and her husband, Al, and Lillie Holstead; one son, Robert A. Holstead Jr.; six grandchildren, Buster and Brad Bourgeois, Danielle Clapinski and husband Greg, Chad and Megan Mahaffey and Hilary Thompson; and one great-grandson, Andrew Clapinski. He is also survived by his sister, Mary Beth Carr and husband Bob and four nieces.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Clarence Otis and Jimmie Howard Holstead; and his brother, Clarence.

His pallbearers, senior players from each of his eight state championship football teams, are Dick Brown, Billy Foster, Wayne Noland, Leonard “Pops” Neumann, Paul Machen, Randy Collins, Jimbo Paxton and Darryl Ellerbee.

Honorary pallbearers are his Louisiana Tech teammates fondly known as the “NAAGQ.”

Wardell Moore

Services for Wardell Moore will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Robbins Funeral Home with the Rev. Melvin Bolden officiating. Burial will follow at Cedar Hill Cemetery. Visitation will be from 1 until 5 p.m. Friday at the funeral home.

Mr. Moore died Sunday, March 2, 2008, at Providence Hospital in Washington, D.C. He was 78.

Mr. Moore was a longtime resident of Vicksburg. He retired from Anderson-Tully after 20 years of service as a lumber machine operator.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Robert Moore and Florence Fulton Moore; and one sister, Fannie Pearl Thomas.

He is survived by one sister, Dorothy Nelson of Washington, D.C.; and nieces, nephews, cousins and other relatives, including Monroe Williams Jr.

Ervin Smith Jr.

Services for Ervin Smith Jr. will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Kings Community Empowerment Center. Burial will follow at Cedar Hill Cemetery. Visitation will be from noon until 7 p.m. at Lakeview Memorial Funeral Home.

Mr. Smith died Friday, Feb. 29, 2008, at Covenant Health and Rehab of Vicksburg. He was 73.

He was a member of Mount Zion Church No. 4 for 43 years.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Mary L. Smith; a daughter, Beverly O’Neal; and his parents, Millie F. Smith and Ervin Smith Sr.

Survivors include seven sons, Albert Sweet II, Jimmy Sweet, Raymond Sweet, Larry Sweet and Anthony Sweet, all of Vicksburg, the Rev. Michael Sweet of Jackson and Ervin Sweet of Tupelo; five daughters, Dorothy Felix, Vanessa Thompson, Deneese Williams and Debra Diane Taylor, all of Vicksburg, and Mary “Tina” Brown of Shreveport, La.; two brothers, Henry Smith of Vicksburg and Charles Smith of Chicago; three sisters, Rose Mary Smith and Ethel Mary Hughes, both of Vicksburg, and Lady M. Seilheimr of Seattle, Wash.; and grandchildren, great-grandchildren, other relatives and friends, including Roberta Williams of Vicksburg.

Eliza Mae Wright

Eliza Mae Wright died Monday, March 3, 2008, at Central Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. She was 71.

Formerly of Vicksburg, Mrs. Wright was a member of New Mount Pilgrim M.B. Church. She was a licensed practical nurse, having retired from Kuhn Memorial State Hospital. She had also worked as a nursing instructor at American College.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Willie Wright; a daughter, Annie May Wright; three brothers, Jessie Wilson, John Wilson and Countee Wilson Sr.; and her parents, Jessie and Corine Wilson.

Survivors include seven children, three brothers, one sister, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.

Dillon-Chisley Funeral Home has charge of arrangements.