Clarion-Ledger from Jackson, Mississippi • Page 10

at I I JACKSON-AREA EA DEATHS Dorothy Baecher, retired secretary By Velinda Collier Clarion Staff Writer The Clarion-Ledger I I Monday, May 6, Dorothy Jean Scales Baecher, 66, of Old Spanish Trail, a retired legal secretary died of cancer Saturday at St. Dominic Hospital. Services are 10 a.m. today at BaldwinLee Funeral Home with burial in Lakewood Memorial Park. Mrs.

Baecher was a native of Morton. She had lived in Jackson for the past 41 years moving from Crystal Springs. She graduated from Crystal Springs High School and attended Hinds Junior College. She was a legal secretary for Butler Snow O'Mara Stephens Canada Law Firm for 17 years. Earlier she worked for Harry Kelly, Attorney at Law; Mississippi Air National Guard; and Miller Transportation.

Mrs. Baecher was a member of Griffith Memorial Baptist Church and the Hope Sunday School Class. Mrs. Baecher was a very loving and caring person with a heart of gold and she never met a stranger, said daughter Betty Joullian. "She loved to entertain.

Christmas was her favorite holiday. She would start decorating and planning the day after Christmas for next year," Joullian said. Every Christmas Eve Mrs. Baecher would have open house for friends and family said her daughter. "In the early stages of her illness she read in the obituary column about a six-year-old boy who had died of a brain tumor," Joullian said.

"She showed it to me and cried saying, 'It should have been me, I've lived my life and he's just a baby," Joullian said. "She cherished her children and grandchildren and bragged on them constantly." "She would always say, 'They're what makes life worth living." Mrs. Baecher's favorite pastime was shopping. "'Shop till you she would say," Joullian said. "She would rather shop than eat." Her favorite shopping companions were her sisters, daughters, and granddaughters.

Mrs. Baecher owned a dachshund named Pepper. Joullian said that Pepper was a source of comfort to her mother during her illness. "We nicknamed him Dr. Pepper because he was so attentive and protective of her during her illness," she said.

Other survivors include: son, Miles F. Baecher, Jr. of Douglasville, daughter, Deborah B. Evans of Douglasville, brother, Kenneth Ray Scales of Crystal Springs; sister, Betty Cox of Jackson; and six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Memorials may be made to Friends of the Children's Hospital, 2500 N.

State St. Jackson, MS 39216, Attn: Jo Carr. John H. Boone retired farmer PUCKETT John H. Boone, 78, a retired farmer, died of a stroke Saturday at Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Jackson.

Services are 4 p.m. today at Puckett Baptist Church with burial in Puckett Cemetery in Rankin County. Colonial Funeral Home is handling arrangements. Mr. Boone was a native of Puckett.

He served in the Army and Air Force during Il. He was a member of Puckett Baptist Church. Survivors include: son, Larry Boone of White Oak; daughter, Judy Purser of Puckett; brother, T. J. Boone of Puckett; sister, Betty Powell of Puckett; and 11 grandchildren and 2 great Mattie Mae Brown retired manager BATON ROUGE, La.

Mattie Mae Breeland FUNERAL HOMES JACKSON CANTON 922-1071 859-3661 LOCALLY OWNED MASTER MICHAEL WAYNE EDWARDS Son of John Margie Edwards 11 am Tuesday, Chapel Visit Mon Jitney WE DELIVER Jungle FLOWERS! I We specialize in Sympathy Designs Call 969-7673 OR 1-800-748-9996 WE CAN WIRE WORLD WIDE VISA MasterCord WRIGHT FERGUSON MRS. LURLINE H. SLAY 10 am Richards Catholic Church Visit: 9 am Mon. at church MR. M.R.

MICKEY SCHWARZAUER 11 am Memorial Park Visit 9:30 am Mon. High St. MRS. EDNA WADE HARRISON 2 pm High St. Visit 10 am Mon.

High St. MR. CHARLES L. DALEY 2 pm High St. Chapel Visit: 6pm to 8pm Monday MR.

KEVIN PATRICK NEAL High St. Chapel Visit: 3-7pm Mon. High St. MISS MATTIE MAE BROWN Visit 10am -11am Tue. High St.

MR. BARRY W. SAUER Visit: 4-6pm Tue. High St. MRS.

GRACE P. ASHCRAFT 352-3632 at Macie L. Harper nurse PEARL Macie L. Harper, 60, a practical nurse, died of heart failure Thursday April 30 at her home. Services are 11 a.m.

Tuesday at Mount Elam Missionary Baptist Church with burial in church cemetery. Visitation is 1-8 p.m. today at Dean's Memorial Funeral Home in Brandon. Mrs. Harper was a native of Pearl.

She was member of Mount Ealm M.B. Church where she served as a senior choir member. She was employed for 33 years at Mississippi State Hospital at Whitfield. Survivors include: husband, Calvin; sons, Larry Harper of Brandon; daughters Vada Woods of Pleasant Hill, Shirley Stapelton of Pearl, and Joyce L. Harper of Jackson; brother, Wille Taylor of Hazen, sisters, Willette Carter of Brandon, Charles E.

Hollis of Terry, Annette Brown of Pearl, Robbie J. Taylor and Dorothy Owens, both of Hazen, and 14 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. Mary Alice Finley Johnson retired registered nurse Mary Alice Finley Johnson, 85, of Breckenridge Drive, a retired registered nurse, died of cancer Sunday at her home. Services are 1 p.m. Tuesday St.

Therese Catholic Church with burial at Lakewood Memorial Park. Visitation is 5-9 p.m. today and a prayer will be said at 7 p.m. today at Baldwin-Lee Funeral Home. Mrs.

Johnson was a was a Scott County native and a member of St. Therese Catholic Church. She was the widow of Howard W. Johnson and had lived in Jackson 15 years. She formerly worked at Jeff Anderson Regional Medical Center and Mississippi Baptist Medical Center.

She was a graduate of Gilfoy School of Nursing. Survivors include; sister, Lola Anthony of Jackson. Kevin Patrick Neal cosmetologist Kevin Patrick Neal, 34, of North Street, a cosmetologist, died of cancer Saturday at Mississippi Baptist Medical Center. Services 3:30 p.m. Tuesday at Wright Ferguson Funeral Home with burial in Lakewood Memorial Park.

Visitation is 3-7 p.m. today. Mr. Neal was a Jackson native and a graduate of Jackson Preparatory School and Hinds Community College. He attended the University of Southern Mississippi.

Survivors include: parents, James H. "Farmer Jim" and Anna Dunn Neal Jackson; sister, Janna Neal Whitfield Ridgeof land; and brother, James H. Neal Jr. of Austin, Texas. Brenda McKay Sutton homemaker PEARL Brenda McKay Sutton, 46, a homemaker, died of lung failure Saturday at Rankin Medical Center in Brandon.

Services are 10 a.m. Tuesday at BaldwinLee Funeral Home with burial in Floral Hills Cemetery. Visitation is after 2 p.m. today. Mrs.

Sutton was a Fayette, Ala. native and a member of Grandview Baptist Church. She had lived in Pearl since 1968, moving from Jackson. Survivors include: husband, Jimmy; daughter, Marci McCollum of Richland; son, Jim Sutton of Jackson; mother, Bobbie of Pearl; sisters, Judy Gober of Mendenhall and Beverly King of Crystal Springs; and a grandson. L.M.

'Wes' Wesley retired Air Force pilot L.M. "'Wes" Wesley, 77, of Cherrywood Drive, a retired Air Force pilot, died of cancer at Methodist Medical Center. Services are 11 a.m. today at Lakewood Memorial Park Funeral Home with entombment at Lakewood Memorial Park. Visitation is after 10 a.m.

today. Mr. Wesley was a Crystal Springs native. He retired after 25 years from the State Department of Banking and Consumer Finance. He enjoyed golf.

He had been married 44 years. Survivors include: wife, Eleanor; daughters, Laurie Noble of Brandon and Debbie Barrett of Cincinnati; sister, Cleo Brown of Hazlehurst; and three grandchildren. Flora child drowns in reservoir The Clarion-Ledger A Flora child drowned early Sunday in Ross Barnett Reservoir after slipping away from a Scott County campsite, authorities said. The body of Michael Wayne Edwards, 4, was discovered at 8 a.m. in about six feet of water at the tip of the reservoir's north end, Scott County Coroner Joe C.

Bradford said. Bradford said the child apparently walked into the water after leaving the campsite around 2 a.m., when his parents noticed he was missing. Edwards was pronounced dead at the scene. The "Bear" Facts. No Bull.

DAILY STOCK PAGES Tuesday Saturday The Clarion Ex itor offer for By Mac Gordon Clarion-Ledger Staff Writer Former state auditor Pete Johnson has turned down an offer by the state to buy a private prison facility he developed in Rankin County, his attorney says. Jackson lawyer Skipper Jernigan said Johnson who is suffering from liver disease and hopes to receive a liver transplant later this month in Houston has invested almost $1 million in the facility located on U.S. 80 in Flowood, and that the state's offer of $785,000 is too low. "We'd love to sell it to the state, but we are not going to give it to them," Jernigan said last week. "The bottom line is that it is worth more than that The 1996 Legislature approved the state Department of Corrections' purchase of the minimum security women's facility that the state has been leasing from Johnson since May 1994.

Under terms of the lease contract, the state pays Johnson $9.61 per day to house inmates. The average daily census of the prison since inception of the contract has been 115 inmates per day, said Department of Corrections spokesman Ken Jones. Full capacity of the prison is about 250 inmates. Jones said the department is attempting to renegotiate the lease contract, which expires in January. Corrections Commissioner Steve Puckett was unavailable for comment.

Meanwhile, Johnson, a Republican candidate for governor in 1991 and a member of one of Mississippi's best known political families, is awaiting a call from Baylor Medical Center in Houston for the liver transplant operation, said his wife, Margaret. "It is very good news. We believe it will take place within May," Mar- rejects state prison facility MISSISSIPPI DEATHS Edward A. Anderson, 47, a logger, died of injuries sustained in a car accident, Richton; 2 p.m. Tuesday, Jones Funeral Home.

Myrtle Jackson Barfoot, 85, a retired business owner, died of heart failure, Bude; 2 p.m. Tuesday at Franklin Funeral Home. Jeff A. Bruce, 26, a line crewman with U.S. Aviation, died of a self inflicted gun shot, Gulfport; 10 a.m.

Tuesday, Baldwin-Lee Funeral Home in Jackson. John P. Camp, 82, a retired executive director for the Mississippi Game an Fish Commission, died of a self inflicted gun, Natchez; 10 a.m. Tuesday, Laird Funeral Home. Clifton Richard Crosby, 33, a truck driver, died in a car accident, Bogue Chitto; 2 p.m.

Tuesday, Calvary Baptist. William M. Drew, 46, a retired foreman, died of cancer, Ellisville; 11 a.m. Tuesday, Jones Funeral Home. John Larry Eldridge, 54, a auto parts salesman, died of a heart attack, Yazoo City, 2 p.m.

Tuesday, Stricklin King Funeral Home. Henry Carlton Furr, 63, a retired maintenance worker, died of cancer, Meridian; graveside services 11 a.m. Tuesday, James F. Webb Funeral Home. Belton Kennedy, 86, a retired barber, died of heart failure, Indianapolis, 11:30 a.m.

today at Ed Roberts Memorial Chapel in Winona, Roberts Sons Mortuary Winona. Louis Theodore Mucci, 82, a retired carpenter, died of heart attack, West Point, 3 p.m. Sunday in West Point Memorial Gardens, NowellRobinson Funeral Home. R.T. Prince, 71, a retired postmaster, died of cancer, Mize, 2 p.m.

Tuesday at Mims Mitchell Funeral Home in Magee. Helen Foster Purvis, 80, a retired teacher, died of cancer, Tupelo, 1 p.m. today at W.E. Pegues Funeral Home. Leslie Seymour Rogers, 78, a retired council, died of a cardiac arrest, Clayton, gravesides service 11 a.m.

Tuesday in Odd Fellows Cemetery, Greenwood, Wilson Knight Funeral Home. CLARION-LEDGER OBITUARY POLICY The Clarion-Ledger publishes obituaries free of charge. Since they are news stories, certain facts are required. Included are the deceased's complete name, age and occupation; date, cause and place of death; time and place of services; and survivors. Families may add background information such as club and church memberships and school accomplishments.

Obituaries received by 6 p.m. will appear in the next day's editions. Obituaries will be published for any person who has lived in, or is being buried in, Mississippi. Information must be received from the funeral home. Funeral homes may dial 961-7252 or 1- 800-222-8015 Ext.

7252 and leave their names and phone numbers. Brown, 92, a retired manager, died of heart failure Sunday at Sterling Place Nursing Home. A private graveside service is Tuesday at Lakewood Memorial Park. Visitation is 10- 11 a.m. Tuesday at Wright Ferguson Funeral Home.

Miss Brown was a native of Simpson County, and a member of Griffith Memorial Baptist Church and Woodland Hills Baptist Church. She was a former manager at Royal Hotel and retired from Southwest Drug Store. Survivors include: sister, Helen Brown Winkler of Whittier, brother, Miles Mayo Brown Jr. of Phoenix, Ariz. Charles L.

Daley business owner Charles L. Daley, 77, of Deer Creek Drive, a business owner, died of a heart attack Sunday at his home. Services are 2 p.m. Tuesday at Wright Ferguson Funeral Home with burial in Lakewood Memorial Park. Visitation is 6-8 p.m.

today. Mr. Daley was a lifelong Jackson resident and a member of Broadmoor Baptist Church. He owned Capitol Barber Beauty Supply Inc. for 50 years.

He was a University of Mississippi football fan and a member of Mississippi Hair Dressers Association. Survivors include: wife, Effie; and sons, William P. Daley of Jackson and Charles I. Daley of San Francisco, Calif. Memorials may be made to the American Heart Association or Broadmoor Baptist Church, Building Fund.

Eddie Dean advertising salesman MONTICELLO Eddie Dean, 62, an advertising salesman, died of a stroke Friday at Lawrence County Hosptial. Services are 2 p.m. today at Baldwin-Lee lutto's 1320 Ellis Ave. 354-0116 1-800-962-2418 Flowers for All Occasions Open 7 Days YOUR FLOWER SPECIALIST GREENBROOK FLOWERS CALL 24 HOURS A DAY 948-235 SATISFACTION GUARANTEED A Family Owned Business For Four Generations Since 1917 FTD JACKSON 372-5623 MRS. DOROTHY JEAN BAECHER 10 am Mon.

Chapel MR. JEFF A. BRUCE 10 am Tues. Chapel MRS. MARY ALICE FINLEY JOHNSON 1 pm Tues.

St. Therese Church MR. WILLIAM ROSS SHARP, SR. 2 pm Tues. Lakewood South Cem.

PEARL 939-6110 MR. OLEY TORRENCE 11 Mon. B- Chapel MR. EDDIE DEAN 2 pm Mon. B-L Chapel MRS.

BRENDA JO SUTTON 10 Tues. B- Chapel garet Johnson said. Pete Johnson was unavailable 1 for comment. Wendy Walker, a spokeswoman for the Texas hospital, confirmed that Johnson is near the top of the list of people awaiting a transplant. Johnson is suffering from a liver disease called active chronic hepatis which can cause cirrhosis, liver cancer and liver failure.

At Baylor Medical Center, he will be under the same team of doctors that treated former New York Yankees baseball star Mickey Mantle before his death last year. Margaret Johnson said the only people ahead of her husband on the transplant list are those patients still in the hospital "with limited time." The Johnsons will have six hours to get to Houston from the time they get the transplant call. They already have arranged for air transportation to the hospital, she said. Pete Johnson, 47, will likely spend up to three months in Texas recuperating after the transplant surgery. He will then go to the hospital every three months for a checkup.

"The first three months after the surgery are the most critical," Margaret Johnson said. "Then the first year. A patient who makes it through the first year after transplant can expect to live a normal life." She said that when the news of her husband's illness broke in February, "we heard from friends all over the country. Many churches put us on their prayer list. It was just heartwarming." Pete Johnson was state auditor from 1988 to 1992.

His grandfather, Paul B. Johnson was Mississippi's governor from 1940 to 1943. His uncle, Paul B. Johnson was governor from 1964 to 1968. Funeral Home in Pearl with burial in Lakewood Memorial Park South in Jackson.

Mr. Dean was an Ocean Springs native and a member of the Church of Prophecy. He lived in Monticello four years, moving from Houston, Texas. He formerly worked for The Clarion-Ledger, The Pearl Press and Lawrence County Press, as an advertising salesman. Survivors include: wife, Cecile; daughter, Tamsen D.

Dean of Guam; sons, Preston K. Dean of Monticello and Reynold D. Dean of Morrison, sister, Delores D. King of Jackson, brother, Bobby L. Dean of Alilene, Texas; and 14 grandchildren.

Michael Wayne Edwards child FLORA Michael Wayne Edwards, 4, died Sunday of an accidental drowning in Low Head Dam in Scott County. Services are 11 a.m. Tuesday at Breeland Funeral Home in Canton with burial in Canton Cemetery. Visitation is 6-9 p.m. today.

Survivors include: parents, John Wayne and Margie Ann Edwards of Flora; sister, Jessica Lee Edwards of Flora; brother, Eric Thomas Edwards of Flora; paternal grandparents, James W. and Rosie Mae Edwards of Flora; maternal grandmother, Georgia Mae Hamilton of Walnut Grove; and paternal step-grandmother, Elaine Edwards of Flora. Leroy Harper truck driver Leroy Harper, 54, of Pearl Street, a truck driver, died of cancer Wednesday at University Medical Center. Services are 11:30 a.m. today at St.

Thomas Missionary Baptist Church in Bolton with burial in Porter Cemetery in Bolton. Cook Funeral Home is handling arrangements. Mr. Harper was a native of Bolton. He attended St.

Thomas Elementary and Summer Hill High School in Clinton. He was employed with BFI Waste Management for six years. Survivors include: son, Marcus Harper of Jackson; brother, Clifton Harper of Clinton and Lindsey Harper of Jackson; mother, Gertrude C. Harper of Clinton; sisters, Ollie Harper of Jackson, Janice Middleton of Clinton, Fannie Moore of Edwards, Mariah Harper of Waukegan, Brenda Claypool of Copperas Cove, Texas, Lela Chambers and Joyce Harper, both of Bolton; and five grandchildren. OTT LEE FUNERAL HOME Since 1934 Brandon 824-6018 Locally Forest 469-3412 Owned Morton 732-6571 DR.

WARREN C. JONES Arrangements inc. Forest MR. THAD CROWELL 10 am Mon. St.

Micheal's Catholic Church LAKEWOOD FUNERAL HOME MR. L.M. WES WESLEY 11 am Vistation after 10 Entombment Garden Mausoleum 1 MR. D.C. YEARWOOD 1pm Visitation after 11 Monday Lakewood Memorial Park MR.

CHARLES LEWIS BURKE 3 pm Visitation after 1pm Monday Lakewood Memorial Park 922-2123 New law requires schools to install weather radios The Associated Press GREENVILLE It's spring in the Mississippi Delta, and that means one thing for sure severe weather in the form of thunderstorms and tornadoes. But as a result of a bill passed by the 1996 Legislature, public schools across the state will soon be better prepared to safeguard Mississippi's children in case of violent storms. "We have the largest number of tornado deaths in the country in the Delta," said state Rep. Willie Bailey, D-Greenville. "At the schools, where there is a large concentration of children, there is the potential for real disaster." With that thought in mind, Bailey, along with Rep.

Tom Cameron, R-Greenville and Rep. George Flaggs D- Vicksburg, sponsored legislation that directs the state Board of Education to "require each public school district to provide for the purchase and installation, before July 1, 1997, of a weather radio for each school in the district." The law was passed by the legislature and signed by Gov. Kirk Fordice to take effect July 1, 1996. "In many of our rural counties, the technology has not been developed to have a warning system. The schools have no way to be warned in case of severe weather," Bailey said.

"We, in Washington County, are fortunate enough to have a Civil De- fense, which gives the warning for severe weather and tornadoes." Bailey said the available technology from the National Weather Service would mean that, once a radio is installed, it will go off automatically in case of a severe weather alert. "They (the radios) can be bought for $15 to $40," he said. "That's relatively inexpensive. If this law will save one life or prevent one injury, it will have been worth it." The law was passed as an unfunded mandate, meaning the state will require the schools to purchase and install the radios, but will not provide any funding for them. "The radios can be donated to schools by PTAs, individuals, corporations, or the districts have authority to purchase them on their own," Bailey said.

"We felt that, if funding was involved, the bill would not have passed. There was a big concern this year about spending." In Washington County, the Emergency Management Office is equipped with Doppler radar and a direct line to the National Weather Service to help monitor the everchanging weather patterns of the Delta in the spring. "We have the new Doppler radar system so we can track and follow storms and stay abreast of instantly changing conditions," said David Burford, deputy director for emergency management. with The Clarion-Ledger1 "I enjoy the spice that working with so many different people provides." Catherine Dennis Executive Secretary Where She Lives Favorite Things Jackson. "Brisk fall days and time spent with "I've lived in Mississippi all my my favorite people." life, except for a three-year stint in Hobbies California." Reading, sewing and camping.

Family Husband, Virgil "My better half." Philosophy on Life Sons, Andrew (13) and Jesse (11) "I try my best to exalt God through attend Faith Christian my words and deeds. My ultimate Academy. goal is to make heaven my eternal Into the Business home and leave treasurable started my job search in Jackson ries for those who knew me best." at The Clarion-Ledger, and began as circulation bookkeeper the Favorite Quote very "This too shall pass comes next day." the morning." What She Does Provides administrative support to Catherine is one of more than 450 The Clarion-Ledger's president and of your friends, neighbors and publisher. colleagues who help produce your Clarion-Ledger 365 days a year. Community Involvement Member of Apostolic Faith UPC Church Teaches The Primary Sunday The (Clarion-Ledger School Class Mississippi's Newspaper.