Alabama, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1805-1967 - 1814-1935
Willie 'Don' Perry
Funeral for Willie "Don" Perry, 72, of Decatur will be Wednesday at 2 p.m. at Roselawn Funeral Home with the Rev. Harold Brown officiating.
A graveside military service will follow at Roselawn Cemetery. The family will receive friends tonight from 6 to 8 at the funeral home.
Mr. Perry died Sunday, Oct. 14, 2001, at his home. He was born May 31, 1929, in Cullman County to Clifford Perry and Alma Belle Bryant Perry. He was retired from the U.S. Air Force.
Survivors include his wife, Roma Perry; one son, Steve Perry of Decatur; one daughter, Dona Kurland of Kennesaw, Ga.; and three grandchildren.
Dorothy G. Schaar
Funeral for Dorothy G. Schaar, 83, of Decatur was to be today at 2 p.m. at Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church.
The family was to receive friends one hour before the funeral.
Ms. Schaar died Sunday, Oct. 14, 2001, at her home. She was born Oct. 7, 1918, in Newark, N.J. to Edward H. Griffen and Lillian Peterson Griffen. She graduated from Battin High School in Elizabeth, New Jersey. The Schaars lived many years in Clark, N.J. Ms. Schaar retired as an executive secretary from AIRCO in 1976, when she and her husband moved to Ormond Beach, Fla. She came to Decatur in 1994, where she was a member of Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church and a volunteer at Parkway Medical Center.
Survivors include her daughters, Barbara Simons of Decatur and Virginia Russell of Colts Neck, N.J.; one sister, Elinor Mink of Fair Haven, N.J.; four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Memorials may be made to Hospice of the Valley or Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church.
M. Charlene Smith
MOULTON -- Funeral for M. Charlene Smith, 68, of Moulton was to be today at 1 p.m. at Lindsey Hall Holy Church of Christ with the Rev. Charles Williams and the Rev. Jimmy Fuller officiating.
Burial was to be in Shiloh Cemetery with Elliott Funeral Home directing.
Mrs. Smith died Sunday, Oct. 14, 2001, at her home. She was born Jan. 8, 1933, in Lawrence County to Crosby Strickland and Trudy Demasters Strickland. She was a retired computer operator for Lawrence Corp. and was a member of Lindsey Hall Holy Church of Christ. She was the mother of the late Ted Wayne Smith, Dallas DeWayne Smith and Marjorie Helen Schofield.
Survivors include her husband, Willard Smith; seven sons, Edmon Smith of Danville, the Rev. Kenneth Smith of Moulton, Travis Smith of Caddo, Arlton Smith, Tracy Smith, Keith Smith and Nick Smith, all of Moulton; one brother, Irwin Strickland of Moulton; one daughter, Kathy Riddle of Moulton; one sister, Kathleen Parker of Moulton; 22 grandchildren; and 12 great-grandchildren.
Pallbearers were to be Jimmy Hill, Dennis Jackson, Mike Jackson, Roger Aldridge, Wendell England and David LouAllen.
Andrew Ashley White
HARTSELLE -- Funeral for Andrew Ashley White, 31, of Falkville will be Wednesday at 1 p.m. at Peck Funeral Home with the Rev. Milan Dekick officiating.
Burial will be in Oden Ridge Cemetery. The family will receive friends tonight from 6 until 8 at the funeral home.
Mr. White died Saturday, Oct. 13, 2001, at Parkway Medical Center. He was born June 25, 1970, in Jefferson County to Winston Lanier White and Shirley Faye Childers White. He was a truck driver for Swift Truck Driving Company.
Survivors include one brother, Jonathan R. White of Trussville.
Lygia Francis Willard
SPRING CITY, Tenn. -- Funeral for Lygia Francis Willard, 77, of Athens will be Thursday at 3 p.m. at First United Methodist Church in Spring City with the Rev. Don Ellison officiating.
Burial will be in Spring City Cemetery with Vaughn Funeral Home directing. The family will receive friends tonight from 6 to 8 at Spry Funeral Home in Athens. The body will be in the church two hours before the service.
Mrs. Willard died Monday, Oct. 15, 2001, at Limestone Health Facility. She was born May 3, 1924, in Tennessee to Erb and Lura Blankinship. She was a homemaker. She was a retired organist and member of First United Methodist Church in Spring City. She was the widow of M.F. Willard Jr.
Survivors include one daughter, Diane W. Hudson of Athens; one brother, Erbert Blankinship of Staten Island, N.Y.; three grandchildren; and one great-grandson.
Pallbearers will be Kent Hudson, Garrett Ennis, Nathan Ennis, Andre Soler, Dwayne Cash and Bob Severance.
Douglas Gerard Young
A memorial service for Douglas Gerard Young, 41, of Ogden, Utah, formerly of Decatur, will be Wednesday at 11 a.m. at Roselawn Funeral Home with Dr. Mark Tolbert officiating.
Mr. Young died Sunday, Oct. 14, 2001, in Ogden. He was born March 30, 1960, in Decatur to W.K. Young and Mildred Young. He was a 1978 graduate of Decatur High School. While a student there he won national awards representing the school's Distributive Education Clubs of America in Washington, D.C. He earned a mechanical engineering degree from Auburn University and worked for Fresenius in Ogden.
Survivors include his father of Decatur; and two brothers, Robert Whitehead of Madison and David Whitehead of Statesville, N.C.
Memorials may be made to the Alzheimer's Association at 3322 S. Memorial Pkwy., Suite 16, Huntsville, AL 35801.
Bobby 'Roadrunner' Blankenship
ATHENS -- Funeral for Bobby "Roadrunner" Blankenship, 54, of Athens was to be today at 2 p.m. at Spry Funeral Home.
Burial was to be in Sandlin Cemetery.
Mr. Blankenship died Monday, Oct. 15, 2001, in Athens. He was born April 17, 1947, in Limestone County to George Willie Blankenship and Emma Lee Taylor Blankenship. He was a shop foreman for Burgreen Construction Co. in Athens.
Survivors include his wife, Janice Blankenship; one son, George Elwood Blankenship of Athens; one daughter, Melissa Polk of Athens; two sisters, Georgia Payne of Taft, Tenn., and Cathie Troup of Huntsville; and three grandchildren.
Pallbearers were to be Mackie Griggs, Michael Peden, Mike Tarpen, Mike Hayes, Dennis Pugh and John Sanderford.
Frank Garner
HARTSELLE -- Frank Garner, 63, of Danville died Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2001, at Parkway Medical Center. Peck Funeral Home will announce arrangements.
Dorothy Goff
Funeral for Dorothy Goff, 83, of Somerville will be Thursday at 1 p.m. at Mount Moriah United Methodist Church in Talucah with the Rev. Kelvin Jones Sr. officiating
Burial will be in Roselawn Cemetery with Sharpley Funeral Home directing. The body will be in the church for one hour before the service.
Mrs. Goff died at home Sunday, Oct. 14, 2001. She was born Oct. 7, 1918, in Richmond, Ind., to Harry Gee and Minnie Oxendine Gee. She was a member of St. James Catholic Church in Dayton, Ohio. She became a member of Mount Moriah United Methodist Church when she moved to Somerville. She was a volunteer for Meals on Wheels and the Senior Citizen Center in Somerville and Decatur. She was the widow of Young Goff. She was a nurse at St. Elizabeth's Medical Center in Dayton.
Survivors include four daughters, Durena Stinson of St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Dorothy C. Goff and Evelyn Romine, both of Somerville, and Barbara Jackson of Madison; seven grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
Pallbearers will be Alfonzo Romine Sr., Edward Jackson Sr., Robert Romine, Nathaniel Fletcher, Calvin Jackson and Joseph D' Alessandro.
Ruby Petty Griffith
HARTSELLE -- Funeral for Ruby Petty Griffith, 88, of Hartselle will be Friday at 11 a.m. at Peck Funeral Home with the Rev. Wendell Callahan and the Rev. Martin Depreast officiating.
Burial will be in Moss Chapel Cemetery. The family will receive friends Thursday night from 5 to 9 at the funeral home.
Mrs. Griffith died today, Oct. 17, 2001, at Hartselle Medical Center. She was born Oct. 30, 1912, in Cullman County to Henry Edgar Petty and Salena Ponder Petty. She was a member of West End Methodist Church and the widow of Roy Griffith.
Survivors include five sons, George Griffith, Henry Griffith, Leroy Griffith, Leslie Griffith and Charles Griffith, all of Hartselle; one sister, Vera Terry of Decatur; 15 grandchildren; 11 great-grandchildren; and one great-great-grandchild.
Pallbearers will be Buddy Johnson, Dennis Griffith, John Jarrett, Temus Terry, John Godsey and Bobby Harris.
Frances F. Jenkins
Funeral for Frances F. Jenkins, 75, of Danville was to be today at 2 p.m. at Enon Baptist Church with the Rev. Johnny Huey officiating.
Burial was to be in Decatur City Cemetery with Roselawn Funeral Home directing.
Ms. Jenkins died Sunday, Oct. 14, 2001, at SunBridge Care and Rehabilitation for Decatur. She was born Feb. 11, 1926, in Morgan County to Raymond Farrer and Ruby Barnes Farrer. She retired from BellSouth after 38 years of service. She was a lifetime member of Enon Baptist Church and was a member of the Pioneer Telephone Re- tirees.
Survivors include her husband, Harold Jenkins of Danville; two stepsons, Floyd Jenkins of Moulton and Gary Jenkins of Danville; one stepdaughter, Carolyn Smith of Decatur; five step-granddaughters; and one step-great-granddaughter.
Margaret Aretta Bates Lorton
FRANKLIN FURNACE, Ohio -- Graveside service for Margaret Aretta Bates Lorton, 89, of Athens, will be at Sunset Memorial Gardens Cemetery at a later date, with the Rev. Wade Gallaher officiating and Miller Weston Funeral Home directing.
Mrs. Lorton died Monday, Oct. 15, 2001, at Limestone Health Facility. She was born March 31, 1912, in Hanging Rock, Ohio to John Marion and Minnie Minerva Carroll Bates. She graduated from Hanging Rock High School in 1930, and moved to Frankfort, Ind. in 1937, where her late husband James Cleave Scott was employed with Nickel Plate Railroad. She was a proofreader for the Frankfort Morning Times in the 1950s and worked at California Packing Co. and UniElectric. She was a long-time member of First Baptist Church of Frankfort and the Bates family of Old Virginia Genealogical Society. She enjoyed quilting, sewing and dollmaking.
She was the widow of Gordon Monroe Lorton, her second husband. She was the sister of the late Walter Patterson Bates, Ralph Daniel Bates, Thomas Donald Bates, John Edward Bates, Dorothy Mae Bates Darkes, Ruth Geneva Bates Powers, Mildred Bates and Erma Jean Bates Chapman.
Survivors include two sons, James Pembrook Scott of Crownsville, Md. and John Carroll Scott of Rogersville; one daughter, Lois Dean Scott Anderson of Union, Mich.; one sister, Mary Annette Bates Frazer of Wheelersburg, Ohio; six grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren. WRSA radio pioneer dies
HUNTSVILLE -- Paul Nielsen, a Tennessee Valley FM radio pioneer, died Tuesday in Huntsville of an apparent heart attack.
Mr. Nielsen, 72, was the founder of WRSA radio in Morgan City. When he built WRSA in the early 1960s, he wanted to put a "good music station on the air," said Tom Panucci, WRSA-FM station manager.
Memorial service for Mr. Nielson, who remained president of WRSA until his death, will be Saturday at 2 p.m. at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Huntsville.
A native of Mituchen, N.J., Mr. Nielsen came to the Tennessee Valley as a propulsion engineer for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. While his background was rocket science, he also had an interest in radio. He was a 1950 graduate of Rutgers University in New Jersey. He joined the U.S. Army following graduation and attended the Army language school. Following his discharge from the military, he became a chemical engineer at Marshall Space Flight Center and NASA. He was a member of the Werner von Braun Apollo launch team as a propulsion engineer.
He built WRSA 37 years ago and signed on the air at 96.9 on the FM dial. His studio and transmitter remain atop Brindlee Mountain.
His wife, Penny Nielsen, said he built the station on a dare.
"He had a good place to put a signal. One of the best places in this area to put up a station. A friend dared him to do it, and he did. But he really loved what he did," she said.
Survivors include his wife of Lacey's Spring; three sons, Nathan Nielsen of Mississippi and Paul Christian Nielsen and Matthew Nielsen, both of Lacey's Spring; one stepson, Sean Pyle of California; four daughters, Ashley Nielsen, Grace Nielsen, Jordyn Nielsen and Sara Nielsen, all of Lacey's Spring; and one stepdaughter, Jennifer Milton of Columbus, Ga.; and four grandchildren.
Twickenham Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Dovie Springer
ATHENS -- Funeral for Dovie Springer, 97, of Indianapolis, and formerly Athens, will be Thursday at 1 p.m. at Antioch Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America with Robert Rice officiating.
Burial will be in Thatch-Mann Cemetery with Peoples Funeral Home directing.
Ms. Springer died Friday, Oct. 12, 2001, in Indianapolis. She was born Nov. 25, 1903, in Elkmont.
Survivors include one son, James Gill of the Bronx, N.Y.; and four daughters, Evelyn Lorine Floyd of Indianapolis, Martha Horton of Cincinnati, Dorothy Kelley of Huntsville and Kimberly Freeman of Athens.
