Obituaries – Apr. 17, 2008
Clara Louise Brooks Honey
WATER VALLEY: Mrs. Clara Louise Brooks Honey, 90, of Water Valley died April 9, 2008, in Yalobusha General Hospital at Water Valley.
Graveside services were held at 11:30 a.m. Monday, April 14, in Oak Hill Cemetery at Water Valley with Father Noble Walker officiating. Burial followed in the cemetery. National Funeral Home of Grenada had charge of arrangements.
Born August 11, 1917 in Water Valley, Mrs. Honey was a daughter of the late Emmett and Clara Brooks. She received a BS in Business Education from Mississippi University for Women in 1940 and a Master’s degree in Guidance and Counseling from Michigan State University in 1964. She served in the Foreign Service with the United States Department of State from 1943-1946.
Mrs. Honey was a teacher at the American School in Managua, Nicaragua from 1950-1952, at the American School in Tegucigalpa, Honduras from 1952-1955, and the American School Foundation in Mexico City from 1957-1977. During her time at the American School in Mexico City, she also served as counselor, Coordinator of Social Studies, and assistant principal. In 1977, she became the Vocational Counselor at Northwest Mississippi Junior College. She also served as the Vocational Director, Northwest Mississippi Junior Colleges Technical Center in Oxford. She was selected as the Teacher of the Year, American School Foundation in Mexico City, 1964; and was cited for Outstanding Contributions to education in the American School in Mexico City in 1965, 1966, and 1971.
Mrs. Honey was a member of St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church in Southaven and was also a member of the American Vocational Association; the Mississippi Personnel and Guidance Association; a former Secretary of the Mississippi Vocational Counselors Association; former Vice-President of Alpha Delta Kappa; and a founding member of the Mississippi Association for Women in Educational Leadership where she was a member of the executive board as a junior college representative. She enjoyed collecting objects d’Arte from around the world, reading, writing and music.
In addition to her parents, Mrs. Honey was preceded in death by her husband, Richard E. Honey.
Survivors include: one son, Richard Brooks Honey of Burke, Virginia; one grandson; and several nieces and nephews.
Verlin Johnson
WATER VALLEY: Verlin Johnson, age 89, passed away April 13, 2008 in Baptist Memorial Hospital—North Mississippi at Oxford.
Born May 25, 1918 at Old Dallas, he was a son of the late William Hunter and Carrie Daniels Johnson. He served in the United States Army during World War II. Mr. Johnson served as a deacon for Paris Baptist Church and was a member of the VFW. He was a farmer and worked for many years at the Kellwood Plant in Oxford.
Services were held at two o’clock in the afternoon Tuesday, April 15, in the Paris Baptist Church, with Bro. Jimmy Sockwell and Bro. Rick Glidewell officiating. Committal followed in the Paris Baptist Church Cemetery, with William Roy Sullivan, Billy Wayne Sullivan, Wilton Trusty Martin, II, Anthony Bedoya, Ed Bedoya, and Robert Garcia serving as pallbearers. Seven Oaks Funeral Home, Inc., in Water Valley had charge of arrangements.
Survivors include: his wife, Mary Lena Johnson of Bruce; two daughters, Anita Johnson Martin (Danny) of Water Valley and Reba Johnson Bedoya (Ed) of Ft. Walton Beach, Florida; one son, Wendell Johnson (Duyen) of Olive Branch; three sisters, Melba Russell, Lillie Hanson, and Ida Marie Zisk; one brother, Marlin Johnson; six grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
Mr. Johnson was preceded in death by: his first wife, Dorothy Louise Robinson Johnson (September, 1963); three sisters, Wilma Sullivan, Margarette Potts, and Maxine Brown; and two brothers, Dr. Jimmy Johnson and Lloyd Johnson.