Obituaries – Sep 04, 2008
S. Gale Denley
BRUCE – Retired Mississippi journalism educator and newspaper publisher, S. Gale Denley of Bruce, died of complications from kidney disease on Friday, August 29, 2008, in Baptist Memorial Hospital—North Mississippi at Oxford. He was 72.
Funeral services were held in the Bruce United Methodist Church Sunday, August 31, 2008, at three o’clock in the afternoon. Interment was in the Bruce Cemetery with Parker Memorial Funeral Home in charge of arrangements.
A native of Coffeeville, Mr. Denley was publisher of The Calhoun County Journal in Bruce and a professor emeritus of journalism at the University of Mississippi, where he taught from 1963 to 1996. He also taught journalism at the University of Southern Mississippi in 1958-59.
A third-generation Mississippi newspaper publisher, Denley and his parents, Sellers and Maggie Ellen Denley, established The Calhoun County Journal in August, 1953. His grandfather, George Elias Denley, purchased The Coffeeville Courier in 1907.
In 2003, Ole Miss named the newly renovated S. Gale Denley Student Media Center in honor the man who led in its tremendous growth from a small student-run newspaper (The Daily Mississippian) to a comprehensive media center with one of the largest daily newspapers in the state, a commercial radio station, and a campus television station.
He was author of a nationally-syndicated column on small business and advertising and later a statewide-syndicated column on politics and general interests. He was a stockholder and corporate officer of The South Reporter, a weekly newspaper at Holly Springs, and for a number of years was a stockholder and vice-president of The Scott County Times, a weekly newspaper in Forrest. He was induced into the Mississippi Press Association Hall of Fame in 1996, and was a former president of the Mississippi Press Association and the MPA Education foundation. Denley received the Golden Em from Ole Miss in 1983—one of only four educators to receive the award since its inception in 1958.
He was a member of the Bruce Rotary Club as a Paul Harris Fellow, Sons of the American Revolution, The Calhoun County Historical Society, and the Bruce Chamber of Commerce. For the last 20 years he was a member of the Neshoba County Fair Association.
He was a member of the Bruce United Methodist Church.
Survivors include: his wife of 53 years, Jo Ann Scott Denley of Bruce; three daughters, Celia Hillouse and husband Lanny, Lisa McNeece and husband, Joel, all of Bruce, and Deanna Adams of Tupelo; his mother, Mrs. Maggie Ellen Denley of Bruce; and seven grandchildren.
Memorials may be made to: The S. Gale Denley Student Media Center Scholarship, S. Gale Denley Student Media Center Scholarship, UM Foundation, P. O. Box 249, University, MS 38677, the Bruce Museum, P. O. Box 1013, Bruce, MS 38915; or Sanctuary Hospice House, P. O. Box 2177, Tupelo, MS 38803.
Lona Pearl Elliott
VICKSBURG – Lona Pearl Elliott, 76, of Vicksburg, formerly of Clarksdale died Sunday, August 31, 2008, in Shady Lawn Place (nursing home) in Vicksburg.
She was born September 6, 1931 in Marks. Mrs. Elliott was a member of the Clarksdale Church of the Nazarene. Her husband, James Hulon Elliott, a son, Joseph Lee Elliott, and her parents, Charlie and Minnie Bell Winters Rogers, preceded her in death.
Survivors include six daughters, Jennett Martin of Water Valley, Cathy Boggan of Vicksburg, Margie E. Williams of Courtland, Laura Eubanks of Horn Lake, Mary Ann Rutledge of Potts Camp, and Norma Jean Bramlett of Coffeeville; three sons, James C. Elliott of Amory, Jimmy H. Elliott of Batesville and Bobby Ray Elliott of Courtland; one sister, Margaret Lancaster of Moon Lake; 24 grandchildren; and 46 great-grandchildren.
The funeral service will be held at one o’clock in the afternoon Wednesday, September 3, in National Funeral Home in Clarksdale, with Rev. Bubby Childress officiating. Burial will be in Barbee Cemetery in Lula. Visitation will be Wednesday from 11 a.m. until service time.
Memorials may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association or a charity of the donor’s choice.
Patricia Ann Miles Hobby
WATER VALLEY – Patricia Ann Miles Hobby, 42, died Thursday, August 28, 2008, at her home.
Born November 20, 1965, in Jackson, Mrs. Hobby was a daughter of Charlie Richard and Carolyn Lee Young Miles. She was disabled.
A graveside service was held in the Camp Ground Cemetery Tuesday, September 2, at eleven o’clock in the morning, with Bro. David Ross officiating. The cemetery is located in Lafayette County. Seven Oaks Funeral of Water Valley had charge of arrangements.
Survivors include two daughters, Audra Hobby and Mykala Patterson, both of Oxford; her parents, Richard and Carolyn Lee Miles of Water Valley; and three brothers, Robert Barnes of Texas, Jerry Lee Miles of Tipplersville, and Perry Joe Miles of Water Valley; and one grandchild.