Alabama, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1805-1967 - 1814-1935
Merle Summerford Drinkard
84, retired businesswoman
CULLMAN -- Funeral for Merle Summerford Drinkard, 84, of Cullman will be Saturday at 2 p.m. at First United Methodist Church with the Rev. Dan Kitchens officiating.
Burial will be in Cullman City Cemetery with Moss Service Funeral Home directing. The family will receive friends Friday night from 6 to 9 at the funeral home.
Mrs. Drinkard died Wednesday, June 7, 2000, at Cullman Regional Medical Center. She was born April 7, 1916, in Morgan County to Arthur Summerford and Elizabeth Woodruff Summerford. She was a licensed mortician and was involved in the family's businesses. She was a member of First United Methodist Church, where she was an active member of the choir for more than 40 years. She was the widow of William H. "Bill" Drinkard.
She is survived by one son, William H. Drinkard Jr. of Cullman; two daughters, Jerry Pollard of Hilo, Hawaii, and Terri Stanton of Montgomery; seven grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.
Memorials may be made to the First United Methodist Church choir.
E.J. Magnusson
72, retired engineer
ATHENS -- Funeral for E.J. Magnusson, 72, of Huntsville will be Friday at 2 p.m. at McConnell Funeral Home with Jess Smith and David McMichael officiating.
Burial will be in Roselawn Cemetery. The family will receive friends tonight from 6 to 9 at the funeral home.
Mr. Magnusson died Wednesday, June 7, 2000, at Huntsville Hospital. He was born Dec. 2, 1927, in Ardmore to Foster Magnusson and Zelma Whitt Magnusson. He was a member of Mount Zion Baptist Church in Huntsville. He was a graduate of Columbia Military Academy, Vanderbilt University and The University of Alabama. He was a U.S. Navy veteran of World War II and served as a radar officer about the destroyer, USS Shelton. He was a retired engineer and worked at Thiokol for 36 years.
He is survived by his wife, Sarah Moore Magnusson; and one sister, Bandy Whitaker Noles of Nashville.
Pallbearers will be Mike Magnusson, Steve Harper, Pat Whitaker, David Marks, George Cooper and John Irvin.
Una P. Russell
Graveside service for Una P. Russell, 83, of Huntsville was to be today at 3:30 p.m. at Roselawn Cemetery in Decatur with Charles Erwin officiating and Roselawn Funeral Home directing.
Ms. Russell died Tuesday, June 6, 2000, at Heritage Manor Nursing Home in Monteagle, Tenn. She was born Dec. 4, 1916. She had lived in Huntsville for 30 years.
She is survived by two nephews, Phillip Garrison of Decatur and Kenneth Phillips of Fyffe; and one niece, Sandra Sharp of Decatur.
Mitchell Cortez Bryant
Funeral for Mitchell Cortez Bryant, 21, of Belle Mina will be Saturday at 1 p.m. at Morning Star United Methodist Church with the Rev. Fred Jefferson officiating.
Burial will be in David Temple Cemetery with Sharpley Funeral Home directing. The body will be at the church one hour before the service.
Mr. Bryant died Tuesday, June 6, 2000, in Decatur. He was born July 15, 1978, in Birmingham. He was a member of Morning Star United Methodist Church.
He is survived by his father, Derrick Comb of Birmingham; his mother and stepfather, Catherine Brown Williams and Homer Williams Jr. of Belle Mina; one brother, Carlos Bryant of Decatur; one sister, Cassandra Brown of Decatur; and one stepbrother, Dresden Williams.
Pallbearers will be Feon Mangrum, Carlos Bryant, Pat Douglas, Ricky Brown, Tim Garth, Michael Brown, Mark Huston and Alfonso Williams.
Matthew Pettis Naylor
16, student
Funeral for Matthew Pettis Naylor, 16, of Decatur will be Saturday at 10 a.m. at First Bible Church with the Rev. Steve Bateman officiating.
Graveside service will be at 5 p.m. at Shubuta Cemetery in Shubuta, Miss., with the Rev. Kenneth Rush Tew officiating and Roselawn Funeral Home directing. The family will receive friends tonight from 5 to 8 at their home at 1602 Woodland St. S.E.
Mr. Naylor died Wednesday, June 7, 2000, at Parkway Medical Center. He was born June 28, 1983, in Decatur to Dr. Lionel Z. Naylor Jr. and Chandra Pettis Naylor.
He was an honor student and member of the basketball team at Randolph School in Huntsville. He showed an interest in writing and presenting speeches as a fifth-grader. During recent years he demonstrated outstanding oratorical skills at speech competitions and was a second-place winner in the state Trumbauer Festival at the University of Montevallo. He also participated in drama productions. He was a hunter and fisherman, and enjoyed water skiing and snow-skiing. He was a member of First Bible Church.
He is survived by his parents of Decatur; one brother, Luke Lewis Naylor of Decatur; one half brother, Lionel Z. Naylor III of Santa Fe, N.M.; four half sisters, Cathy Naylor Story and Renee Naylor Rush, both of Decatur, Jeanne Naylor Haugen of Philadelphia and Nicole Naylor Klooster of Nashville; and his grandmothers, Ivie Naylor Lewis of Tallulah, La., and Joyce McDevitt Pettis of Shubuta.
Pallbearers for the Decatur service will be John Lamont, Allen Hofammann, Justin Carroll, Patton Tutt, Aaron Dios and Nate Matthews. Pallbearers for the burial service will be Charles E. Story Jr., Taylor Sykes, Charles E. Story III, Philip Tew, James R. Sykes Jr. and Lionel Z. Naylor III.
Memorials may be made to First Bible Church, 3202 Spring Ave. S.W., Decatur, AL 35603 or Randolph School in Huntsville.
Eunice Aline Rowe
68, homemaker
Funeral for Eunice Aline Rowe, 68, of Trinity will be Saturday at 11 a.m. at Ridout's Brown-Service Funeral Home with the Rev. Pat Brock officiating.
Burial will be Monday at 11 a.m. at Sunset Memorial Gardens in Spartanburg, S.C., with the Rev. John Cox officiating. The family will receive friends from Saturday from 9:30 to 11 a.m. at the funeral home.
Mrs. Rowe died Wednesday, June 7, 2000, at home. She was born Sept. 26, 1931, in Forest City, N.C. She was a homemaker.
She is survived by one son, Mark Rowe of Trinity; three grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
Bert Lee Sapp
49, former Sun Drop Cola employee
HARTSELLE - Funeral for Bert Lee Sapp, 49, of Hartselle will be Saturday at 11 a.m. at Peck Funeral Home with Terry Nappier officiating.
Burial will be in Falkville City Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 6 to 9 tonight at the funeral home.
Mr. Sapp died Thursday, June 8, 2000, in Huntsville Hospital. He was born Jan. 28, 1951, in Morgan County to Douglas Sapp and Clemmie Sapp. He was a Baptist and worked for Sun Drop Cola in Decatur.
He is survived by his father of Decatur; two brothers, J.D. Sapp of Decatur and Charles Rose of Moulton; and one sister, Bobbie Morgan of Decatur.
Pallbearers will be John Morgan, C.W. Walling, Ricky McAbee, James Shaffer, Mike Shaffer and Eric Shaffer.
Eddie Self
76, Civic leader
Eddie Self's family knew his priorities. First came God, then his family and then others in the community.
His wife, Sharon Rose Self, said that somewhere among the first three, he found a little time to be a certified public accountant for more than 50 years in Decatur.
Mr. Self died Wednesday, June 7, 2000, at University of Alabama Hospital at Birmingham.
Funeral will be Sunday at 3 p.m. at Central United Methodist Church with the Rev. Hal Noble, the Rev. John Clotfelter, the Rev. Mark Stewart and Salvation Army Maj. Bob Bagley officiating.
Burial will be in Decatur City Cemetery with Roselawn Funeral Home directing. The family will receive friends Sunday from 12:30 until 3 p.m. at the church.
"When we were getting together information for his obituary," Mrs. Self said, "I was reading it to one of our daughters. When she heard everything Eddie was involved in, she said she was surprised at how many things her father was involved in."
Edgar Allen Self, 76, of Decatur was a Methodist, a Civitan, volunteer for the Salvation Army and active in various community projects. He was born Sept. 25, 1923, in Cullman County to William Calvin Self and Lillian Boyd Self, and moved to Morgan County as a child.
A member of Central United Methodist Church, he taught Sunday school for more than 50 years and was a past president of United Methodist Men on both the local and district levels. He was elected to the North Alabama Conference of United Methodist Men, was a member of the Board of Laity for the North Alabama Conference and was associate conference lay leader for eight years.
He was elected to the United Methodist Jurisdictional Conference eight times and was elected as a delegate to the General Conference seven times, including this year. He was unable to go because doctors discovered a brain tumor that eventually led to his death, Mrs. Self said.
He also was a Civitan for more than 50 years, joining in 1949. He is best known in this area for his annual chairmanship of the Civitan Outstanding Citizen of the Year Award.
Fellow Civitan and friend Dan Sansing said Mr. Self held every office in Civitan and was president of the local club in 1958. He was a past governor for the North Alabama District and was the official song leader for the Decatur club.
"He received the District Honor Key, an award seldom given," Sansing said. "It's like receiving the Medal of Honor in the military. He also received the Alabama District North Honor Key and was honored as a Civitan Fellow, an international award."
Sansing said Mr. Self was a graduate of Birmingham-Southern College but loved the University of Alabama.
"Every fall, we would tool up to gig each other because I am an Auburn graduate," Sansing said. "He loved to lead the singing and dedicate the songs to Alabama football players."
Mr. Self also served on the Salvation Army Board for 50 years.
A friend, Robert Hutson, said Mr. Self was a "young fellow when I met him at Central United Methodist Church. At one time, he was in my Sunday school class, and he was always interested in getting in his word."
Mr. Self was the children's song leader at Central United, Hudson said.
"He was a great church member and was active in the community for as long as I knew him," Hutson said.
In addition to his church and civic work, he was a pilot during World War II and an instructor in the U.S. Air Force Reserve until he completed 28 years of active duty. He retired as a lieutenant colonel.
He is survived by his wife; one son, Edgar Allen Self Jr. of Decatur; three daughters, Melissa Self Patrick and Michelle Self Jones, both of Birmingham, and April Self Dalrymple of Chattanooga; one brother, Earl Boyd Self of Huntsville; one sister, Louise Self Smith of Decatur and Merritt Island, Fla.; and four grandchildren.
Memorials may be made to United Methodist Camp Sumatonga in Gallant, the Salvation Army, Central United Methodist Building Fund or American Cancer Society.
Pallbearers will be James Fields, Roy Dawson, Charles Crane, Mike Miles, Walt Rogers, Salvation Army Capt. Mark Smith, Don Stephens and Joe Hollenbeck.
Members of the North Alabama United Methodist Men, the Decatur Civitan Club, the North Alabama Conference Board of Laity and Salvation Army board members will be honorary pallbearers.
Pauline 'Polly' Woodall
83, Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q retiree
Funeral for Pauline "Polly" Woodall, 83, of Decatur will be Sunday at 1:30 p.m. at Roselawn Funeral Home with the Rev. Dwayne McDuff and the Rev. Tony Woodall officiating.
Burial will be in Roselawn Cemetery. The family will receive friends Saturday night from 6 to 8 at the funeral home.
Mrs. Woodall died today, June 9, 2000, at her home. She was born June 16, 1916, in Morgan County to William D. Westmoreland and Minnie Belle Edmondson Westmoreland. A longtime employee of Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q, she was the widow of Paul B. Woodall.
She is survived by one son, Billy Gene Woodall of Decatur; one daughter, Gaynell Johnson of Decatur; one brother, C.E. "Bill" Westmoreland of Marietta, Ga.; three sisters, Christine Mitchell and Bunny Bice, both of Decatur, and Jonnie Green e of Montgomery; four grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
Pallbearers will be Barry Johnson, Lynn Woodall, Tony Woodall, Ed Cajul, Bobby Stephenson, Johnny Stephenson, Ray Mitchell and Ben Roper.
