Mrs. Margaret Evelyn Cothern, age 87, of Colt, died Sunday, Jan. 4, 2004.
Mrs. Cothern was born Sept. 17, 1916, in Baltimore, Md., the daughter of Forster G. Smith and Elizabeth Von Preiss Smith. She lived in the St. Francis County area since 1956, and was a homemaker and a member of Colt Baptist Church.
Mrs. Cothern married James W. Cothern in 1942 and he preceded her in death in 1996. She is survived by four sons, Frank Bell of West Memphis, James W. Cothern of Colt, Howard S. Cothern of Wynne and Ray Arnold Cothern of Centerville; two daughters, Carol Sue Crossen of Austin and Sharon L. Smith of Russellville; a sister, Catherine Shiflett of Gettysburg, Pa.; nine grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. She was also preceded in death by a brother, Frank Smith.
Visitation for Mrs. Cothern will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2004, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Kernodle Funeral Home in Wynne. Funeral services will be held on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2004, at 2 p.m. in the Chapel of Kernodle Funeral Home in Wynne. Burial will follow in Hughes Cemetery with Rev. Charles Bradley officiating.
The family requests that memorials be made to the Colt Baptist
Church, P.O. Box 283, Colt, AR 72326.
Mrs. Landis Medling Ross, age 95, of Bolivar, Tenn., died Saturday, Jan. 3, 2004, at Crestpark Retirement Inn in Forrest City.
Mrs. Ross was born Dec. 17, 1908, in Tokyo, Japan, the daughter of Phillip Paul Medling and Lena Rushing Medling. She lived most of her life in the Bolivar area before moving to Forrest City in 1990. She was a retired school teacher working 28 years in Hardeman County and two years in Mississippi. Mrs. Ross was active in the Retired Teacher's Association, a member of the Bolivar First Baptist Church for 60 years and recently attended the Forrest City First Baptist Church.
Mrs. Ross is survived by a daughter, Nancy Ross Armstrong of Forrest City; two sons, Phillip Ross of Selmer, Tenn. and David Ross of Oakland, Tenn.; a sister, Pauline Dollar of Tampa, Fla.; four grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren and four great-great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, Dorris Ross in 1958 and a brother, Rev. William Medling.
Funeral services for Mrs. Ross will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2004, at Shackelford Funeral Directors in Bolivar with George Johnson and David Cooper officiating. Burial will follow in Bolivar Memorial Cemetery.
The family requests that memorials be made to the Bolivar/Hardeman County Library, the Bolivar First Baptist Church or the Forrest City First Baptist Church.