Mrs. Wilma Anna Gertrude Nixon Ball, age 80, of Wynne, died Saturday, May 25, 2002, at Wynwood Nursing Center in Wynne.
Mrs. Ball, a retired employee of Addison Shoe Company, was born April 25, 1922, in Cherry Valley and was the daughter of Marvin V. Nixon and Ethel Walls Nixon. She was a life long resident of Cross County and was a member of the Church of God in Cherry Valley.
In 1941, Mrs. Ball married Johnnie Ball of Cherry Valley and he survives her, along with, four sons, Lawrence "Sonny" Ball of Wynne, Dale Ball of Colt, Doyle Ball of Forrest City and Jay Ball of Cherry Valley; a daughter, Shirley Johnston of Arlington, Tenn.; two sisters, Elouise Everhart of Trumann and Marvella Nixon of Halls, Tenn.; 11 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren. Mrs. Ball was preceded in death by a daughter, Judy Ball and two brothers Milton Nixon and Gene Nixon.
Visitation for Mrs. Ball will be held Monday, May 27, 2002 at the chapel of Thomson-Wilson Funeral Home from 6 until 8 p.m. Funeral services for Mrs. Ball will be held Tuesday, May 28, 2002, at Thompson-Wilson Funeral Home Chapel in Wynne with Bro. Sam Willis of Wynne officiating, assisted by Rev. J.T. Baskins. Burial will follow in the Vanndale Cemetery in Vanndale under the direction of Thompson-Wilson Funeral Home of Wynne. The family requests that memorials be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis.
Mrs. Gertrude Ethel "Gerty" Rhymer Woods age, 84, of Forrest City, died Thursday, May 24, 2002, at her home.
Mrs. Woods, the daughter of Thomas Rhymer and Cora Smithie Rymer, was born Dec. 27, 1917, in Caruth, Mo.. She was a homemaker and was of the Church of God faith. Prior to moving to Forrest City in 1985, Mrs. Woods had been a resident of the Tyronza and Twist area as well as the Wilson and Osceola area.
Mrs. Woods is survived by three sons, Alfred Wright of Black Oak, Robert Wright of Forrest City and Thomas Wright of Harrisburg; seven daughters, Ethel Day of Memphis, Thelma Pate of Colt, Bernice Wright and Mary Holland, both of Forrest City, Stella Darling of Coldwater, Miss., Earline Halfacre of Gravette and Betty Mary of Illinois; 34 grandchildren and several great and great-great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by two husbands, Roy Wright and Buford Woods, as well as two sons, William Wright and Roy Wright Jr.
Funeral services for Mrs. Woods were held Saturday, May 25, 2002, at 2 p.m. at Thompson-Wilson Funeral Home in Wynne with Rev. Roger Smith, pastor of Cross Roads Original Church of God in Colt, officiating. Burial followed in Hughes Cemetery in Forrest City under the direction of Thompson-Wilson Funeral Home of Wynne.