Ben Presley Aultman
84, of Sumrall
Ben Presley Aultman died Oct. 2019. Visitation will begin at 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 1, at First Baptist Church Sumrall with the service will follow at 11 a.m. followed by burial at Presley-Watts Cemetery.
Born in April,1945, Mr. Aultman was a lifelong resident of Sumrall and a member of First Baptist Church Sumrall for more than 55 years. He served in the United States Army with tours in Germany and stateside.
Survivors include his daughter, Cindy Hudson.
Ruby Merl Turnage Dillon
78, of Hattiesburg
Ruby Merl Turnage Dillon died Oct. 26, 2019, at her home. Services were Oct. 28 with burial at Turnage Chapel Congregational Methodist Church Cemetery in Foxworth.
Mrs. Dillon was a member of Hardy St. Baptist Church, where she was a member of the Ruth Gordon Sunday School Class. She was also a member of the Myra Chapter No. 20 Order of the Eastern Star.
Survivors include her son, Jimmy Dillon of Hattiesburg; three daughters, Teresa Garcia of Petal, Darlene Kelley of Hattiesburg, and Diann Jones of Richton; 10 grandchildren; 17 great grandchildren; 2 great-great grandchildren.
Linda Dossett
of Petal
Linda Dossett died Oct. 26, 2019, at her home. Services were Oct. 29 at Main Street Baptist Church with burial in Highland Cemetery.
Mrs. Dossett was a member at Large of Beta Sigma Phi, Omicron Chapter. She was a team leader in the Forrest County 4-H Program. She spearheaded Operation Cookie Lift and, with the help of the Second Army National Guard in Jackson, air-lifted thousands of pounds of cookies and care packages to troops serving in Operation Desert Storm in Saudi Arabia. She was a member of Main Street Baptist Church and a volunteer at Wesley Medical Center.
Survivors include her husband, Bobby Dossett of Petal; three sons, Dennis Varnado of Bossier City, La., Eric Varnado of Gulfport and Lane Dossett of Hattiesburg; one adopted son, O.J. Ojeda of Blue Springs, Mo; three sisters, Karen Walker of Mt. Olive, Mary Lee Marion of North Palm Beach, Fla., Ginny Burton of Wellington, Fla.; four grandchildren.
Robert Earls
69, of Petal
Robert “Bobby” Earls died Oct. 27, 2019, at Merit Health Wesley Hospital. A private memorial service will be held at a later date.
Mr. Earls was a retired sheet metal worker and had served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War.
Survivors include is twin daughters, Amy Williams and Jennifer Brogdon, both of Petal; a brother, Terry Earls of Foxworth; four grandchildren; three great-grandchildren.
Michael Lafferty Sr.
78, of Hattiesburg
Michael “Mike” Lafferty Sr. died Oct. 28, 2019, at the Asbury Hospice House. A mass of Christian burial will held at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 5, at St. Fabian Catholic Church. Visitation will be from 10 a.m. until service time.
Mr. Lafferty was a member of St. Fabian Catholic Church. He had served in the U. S. Army Reserve during the Vietnam era. He had a varied career in the auto industry, which ranged from being a representative for the Chrysler Corporation, owning his own dealership, which was the House of Dodge, and finally retiring from McMullen Motors. He also had worked as a land man in the oil industry.
Survivors include his wife of 55 years, Diane Aultman Lafferty of Hattiesburg; a son, Todd Lafferty of Gulfport; a sister, Kaye Priwe of Tunica; and two grandchildren.
Annette Emily Barber Mann
74, of Hattiesburg
Annette Emily Barber Mann died Oct. 27, 2019, at Forrest General Hospital. Visitation will be from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, Nov. 1, at Forrest Funeral Home with the service to follow and burial at Bullock Cemetery.
Mrs. Mann was born on May 17, 1945, to Freddie and Christine Barber in Bayou La Batre, AL.
Survivors include her husband of 37 years, L.B. Mann; four children, Debbie Dean, Kevin Mann, Eric Mann and Machelle Brown; four siblings, Nellie Barber, Ernest Barber, Prescilla Tillman and Dinah Seaman; a host of grandchildren, great grandchildren.
Lottie Jean Fillingame Pace
85, of Hattiesburg
Lottie Jean Fillingame Pace died Oct. 25, 2019, at Forrest General Hospital. Services were Oct. 29 at Autumn Ridge Baptist Church with burial in Oloh Cemetery.
Mrs. Pace was a member of Autumn Ridge Baptist Church. She was a teacher for 35 years before retiring from Moss Point School District in 1996.
Survivors include her husband, Dr. A.J. Pace of Hattiesburg; four children, Roxane Pace of Savannah, Ga., Galen Pace of Oloh, Dr. S. Kelton Pace of Oxford, and Jill Harvey of Pensacola, Fla.; 11 grandchildren; 7 great grandchildren.
Matt Patterson
43, of Sumrall
Matt Patterson died Oct. 27, 2019. Graveside services were Oct. 29 at Hickory Grove Baptist Church Cemetery.
Mr. Patterson was an engineer with the Hattiesburg Fire Department and a member of Hickory Grove Baptist Church.
Survivors include his wife, Brittany Patterson of Sumrall; three sons, Jaxson Lamar Patterson, Jase Taylor Patterson, and Jordan Matthew Patterson, all of Sumrall; parents, Glen and Brenda Patterson of Sumrall; two sisters, Shannon Patterson Hankins of Purvis and Dawn Patterson Aultman of Sumrall.
Delois Russell
73, of Sumrall
Graveside services will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 1, 2019, at Williamson Cemetery for Delois Russell.
Survivors include three sons, Charles Richard "Ricky" Russell of Petal, Gary Wayne "Bo" Russell of Dixie Community, and Randall "Bo Pete" Russell of Sumrall; one sister Linda Sue Russell of Sumrall; one brother, Royce Williamson of Sumrall; three grandchildren; five great-grandchildren.
James Albert Rodgers
75, of Hattiesburg
James “Jimmy” Albert Rodgers died Oct. 23, 2019, at Asbury Hospice House. Services were Oct. 26, with burial in Highland Cemetery.
Mr. Rodgers was born Nov.19, 1943, in Greenwood, South Carolina. He was a 1961 graduate of George S. Gardiner High School in Laurel and received a degree in pharmacy from Samford University in 1966. He served the community as a pharmacist for more than 50 years and worked in independent retail pharmacy for several area businesses. He retired from Vital Care Compounding in 2017. He was involved with many pharmacy organizations, including Jones County Junior College, serving as the pharmacist board member for the pharmacy technician program, International Academy of Compounding Pharmacists and Professional Compounding Centers of America. He was also a preceptor for the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy for 13 years.
Survivors include his wife, Virginia “Ginger” Rodgers; a daughter, Jennifer Michel of Brandon and son, Jay Rodgers of Hattiesburg.
Rachil Diane Seal
69, of Hattiesburg
Rachil Diane “DaDa” Seal died Oct. 25, 2019. Services were Oct. 31 with burial in Highland Cemetery.
Mrs. Seal was born on Sept. 17, 1950, and raised in the Hattiesburg/Petal area. She was a homemaker.
Survivors include her daughter, Brenda Lynn Phillips; her son, Mark Allen Seal; her brother, Jimmy Ray Dye; four grandchildren.
The Rev. Gerald T. Stovall
79, of Hattiesburg
The Rev. Gerald Thomas Stovall died Oct. 25, 2019, at his home. Visitation will be from 1-3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 2, at Main Street Baptist Church with burial in Highland Cemetery.
The Rev. Stovall was a member of Main Street Baptist Church. He received his Bachelor’s Degree in education in 1964 from North Texas State University. He then went on to obtain his Master’s of Religious Education from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1966. He spent most of his career in the ministry as a campus minister and a music minister. He was an active member of the Lamar Amateur Radio Club. He founded the Parkinson’s Association of Mississippi in the early 2000s.
Survivors include his wife, Marcia Hearn Stovall of Hattiesburg; three children, Traci Stovall Sinks of Hattiesburg, Amy Stovall Cox of Sumrall, and Keith Roy Stovall of Brookhaven; one brother, Bill Stovall of Point, Texas one sister, Judy Thomas of Little Hope, Texas; five grandchildren.
Georgia Taylor
80, of Sumrall
Georgia Taylor, formerly of Arlington, Texas, died Oct. 23, 2019. Services were Oct. 26 with burial in Roseland Park Cemetery.
Mrs. Taylor retired as a real estate agent and was a member of the Baptist faith.
Survivors include one son, Jeff Aultman of Pataskala, Ohio; one daughter, Glenda Pittman of Sumrall; two sisters, Leona Chapman of Columbus, Ohio and Oleta Turner of Chattanooga, Tenn.; one brother, Donald Harrison of Lucedale; three grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.
William F. Temple
93, of Seminary
William F. Temple died Oct. 25, 2019, at his home. Services were Oct. 28 with burial in Sunrise Baptist Church Cemetery.
Mr. Temple was of the Christian faith. He served in the United States Army during World War II and was retired as an office manager from Dowell Chemical Company.
Survivors include his wife, Thellis Temple of Seminary; four sons, Donald Franklin Temple of Orlando, Fla., Wendell Brett Temple of Sarasota, Fla., Kyle Temple of Seminary, and Chris Temple of Memphis; one step-son, James Mitchell Gibson of Poplarville; four grandchildren.
Evelyn J. Wells
80, of Hattiesburg
Evelyn J. Wells died Oct. 27, 2019, at her home. Graveside services were held Oct. 30 in Rawls Springs Cemetery.
Mrs. Wells was a member of Maybank Baptist Church.
Survivors include her husband, Jerry B. Wells of Hattiesburg.
