Saturday, October 27, 2007

October 27, 2007 01:44 am

— Lenard Lee Clark

Services for Lenard Lee Clark will be held Monday at 10 a.m. at Barham Funeral Home Chapel with the Revs. James Ruffin and John Temple officiating. Burial will be in Forest Lawn Cemetery.
Mr. Clark, 82, of Meridian, died Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2007, at Jeff Anderson Regional Medical Center. He was a member of Poplar Springs Baptist Church. He was the owner of Broadmoor Barber Shop since 1961. He was a member of the Navy League and a Mason and an avid fisherman. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army and served in World War II.
Survivors include his wife, Jean Fortenberry Clark of Meridian; daughters, Carol Barnes Quintero and her husband, Victor, of Meridian and Leigh Clark Dean and her husband, Billy, of Tampa; grandchildren, Eddie Lamar Johnson Jr., Randy Gilbert, Leigh Ellen Gilbert, Billy Quintero and his wife, Sally; great-grandchildren, Jace Russell Gilbert, Malana Gilbert and Alisha, Keanan Quintero, and Morgan Quintero; step-children, Sandy Temple of Meridian, Bobby Fortenberry of Jackson, Judy Crouse of Burlington, N.C.; step-grandchildren, Brian Temple, Kelly Temple Crocker, Jody Fortenberry, Luke Fortenberry, Jason Beck, Justin Beck and Jennifer Beck Stacey; step-great-grandchild, Braden Beck; brothers, Nolan L. Clark and his wife, Kate, and Olan L. Clark and his wife, Vinalee, all of Meridian and a sister, Clara Clark of Philadelphia and several nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his first wife, Frances Geiger Clark.
Pallbearers will be Billy Dean, Randy Gilbert, Terrell Temple, Brian Temple, and Bobby Fortenberry.
Visitation will be Sunday from 5 p.m. - 8 p.m. at the funeral home.

Reponza Louisa Lofton Williams

Services for Reponza Louisa Lofton Williams will be held Monday at noon at Mt. Olive Baptist Church with the Rev. Dr. Carlos Wilson officiating. Burial will be in Forest Lawn Cemetery. Berry and Gardner Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Ms. Williams, 44, of Meridian, died Friday, Oct. 26, 2007, at Jeff Anderson Regional Medical Center.
She was born in Meridian on June 25, 1963, to Willie Lofton Jr. and Earline White Lofton of Toomsuba. She was a graduate of Northeast Lauderdale High School and was a licensed cosmetologist, a certified HIV/AIDS educator, a church secretary and a certified health care nurse assistant. She will be remembered as a loving mother. She was married to Robert L. Williams.
Survivors include her son, Roderick Lee Feirrell Williams; her mother, Earline Lofton and father Willie Lofton Jr.; sisters, Evelyn W. Acklin of Toomsuba, Marion Sam and her husband, Matthew, of Meridian, Caronet L. Lofton of Marion, Fayette Miller of Meridian and Rosemary Moody; brothers, Ricky Lofton, Eddie Johnson and his wife, Sarah, of Meridian and Winston Steve Naylor of Miami; several aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, other relatives and friends.
Visitation will be Sunday from 6 p.m.- 7 p.m. at the funeral home and one hour prior to the services at the church on Monday.

Sara Lanterman
Homemaker

A visitation only for Sara Lanterman will be held today from 5 p.m. - 9 p.m. at Stephens Funeral Home in Meridian.
Mrs. Lanterman, 73, of Meridian, died Wednesday October 24, 2007, in her home.
Survivors include her children, Terry Lanterman and his wife, Kristi, of Meridian, Timothy Lanterman of Fall Brook, Calif., Douglas and his wife, Mary Ethridge of Causeyville, Susan Ethridge, of Meridian, Sally and Mike Kennedy of Meridian, Leann McDonald and her husband, Jeremey, of Jackson;10 grandchildren and several great grandchildren; her step-son, John Lanterman and his wife, Scharmayne, of
Dupo, Ill. and a sister, Irene Boggs of Tennessee.
She was preceded in death by her husband Elwood Lanterman; Parents: John and Ursula McKinley; siblings, Lucy Poore, Sally Poole, Allen McKinley, Harold McKinley, W. T. McKinley, James McKinley, John B. McKinley
and Albert McKinley.
Memorial contributions may be made to the American Kidney Fund 6110 Executive Blvd. Suite 1010, Rockville, MD. 20852 or Toll Free 1-800-638-8299.

Edison Boatner
Retired

Graveside services for Edison Boatner will be held Sunday at 3 p.m. at Decatur City Cemetery. Barham Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Boatner, 89, died Thursday, Oct. 25, 2007, in Meridian. He was retired from Miller Transport as a driver and trainer. He was a member of Highland Baptist Church. He was a veteran of the U.S. Military and served in World War II.
Survivors include his wife of 62 years, Gladys Spence Boatner; sisters, Fay Pierce of Benton, Eddie Lee Wilkerson of Yazoo City; a brother, Homer Boatner and his wife, Mary, of Houston, Texas; a sister-in-law, Lois Wilcher of Meridian; nieces and nephews, Ann and Bob Craven, Julia and Dwayne Sharp, and Elaine Brown, all of Meridian, Elaine Spence of Enterprise and several other relatives and friends.
Memorials may be made to Highland Baptist Church or to Aldersgate Retirement Community. The family requests no flowers please.
Pallbearers will be Bill Spence, Phillip Spence, Jack Brown, Dwayne Sharp, Jordan Craven and Zach Riggs.
Visitation will be Sunday from 1 p.m.- 2 p.m. at the funeral home.
Judge John R. Farrell

A memorial mass for Judge John R. Farrell was held at St. Kieran’s Catholic Church in Miami Tuesday. Burial will be at St. Patrick Cemetery in Meridian at 2 p.m. on Saturday Nov. 3. Stephens Funeral Home is in charge of local arrangements.
Judge Farrell died in Miami Thursday, Oct. 18, 2007. He born on March 17, 1929, in Meridian, the only son of Leslie and Esther Pearce Farrell, John and his beloved sisters, Coleta (Don) Newton of Birmingham, Ala., Mary Leslie (William) Threadgill and Jacqueline (John) Harrington all of Columbus, grew up in Meridian.
He joined the Navy in 1948, and retired as a Lt. Commander. He was a fighter pilot, a flight instructor and a member of one of the last groups of Navy Flying Midshipmen. He graduated from Ole Miss and began law school there. After his first year, he was accepted as one of the rare transfer students into Yale Law School. He graduated with honors from Yale in 1958 and was immediately hired as a professor of law at the University of Florida. A gifted orator, his students still remember him as the “biggest boom in the south” with a voice that captivated everyone, holding them spellbound. He was a member of the Florida and Mississippi bars, admitted to the federal courts and the U.S. Supreme Court . He was a Knight of Malta , a member of KA Order, ODK, the Kewanee Fishing Club of Meridian and numerous professional and social organizations.
After University of Florida, he became President of the First National Bank of Lake City, Florida. He moved to Miami in the early 1960’s and joined the prestigious firm of Frates Floyd & Pearson. He next joined the Dade County Attorney’s Office . It was there he developed an abiding friendship with the Hon. Gerald T. Wetherington, a friendship that lasted nearly fifty years. John and Jerry left the County and opened Wetherington & Farrell, P.A. After Jerry became a judge, John opened his own Miami office. He specialized in the field of eminent domain law and was preeminent throughout the state. He was a member of the first Judicial Nominating Committee for the Third District Court of Appeal. He opened his office and his mind to young attorneys who needed a place to get started, while continuing to fly for the Navy and teaching as an adjunct professor at the University of Miami, School of Law. In 1988 John was asked to create the Civil General Magistrate Division of the 11th Judicial Circuit in an effort to help ease the burden of complex litigation . He was the only civil general magistrate in Florida for several years. Based on the success of the program, civil magistrate divisions have now been created throughout the state. He retired from the courts in 2005 having seen his last protégé, Pamela H. (Lovely) Lazar, become an attorney. They worked together in the courts during his last two years where he wanted a sign on the door that said “Two Lawyers, No Waiting.” His sense of humor was boundless, as was his gift of speech and his legal scholarship. His friends and associates gathered around him through the years listening as he expounded on all manner of subjects. Even while he was ill, his devotees sought his guidance and knowledge, which he willingly shared. He was dubbed “Great St. John” by his family.
Survivors include his sisters,Coleta Newton and her husband, Don, of Birmingham, Ala., Mary Leslie Threadgill and her husband, William and Jacqueline Harrington and her husband, John, all of Columbus; his children, all in Florida, John Jr., of Lake City, Christopher, of West Palm Beach, Jeffrey of Miami, Leslie Ann Ahrens and her husband, Don, of Gainesville, Mary Carol of Gainesville, Nancy of West Palm Beach, several grandchildren, a great grandchild, and numerous devoted nieces and nephews.
He was predeceased by his parents, Esther and Leslie Farrell of Meridian, and one of his twin daughters, Janet Leah.
Memorials may be made to Catholic Charities in his name.

Marsha Marshall

Private memorial services for Marsha Marshall will be held at a later date. Barham Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Marshall, 60, of Toomsuba, died Friday, Oct. 26, 2007, at Rush Foundation Hospital.

Vera Conard Downs

Arrangements were incomplete at James F. Webb Funeral Home for Vera Conard Downs, 80, of Meridian, who died Thursday, Oct. 25, 2007, at Rush Foundation Hospital.