JAMES HICKS

James Graham Hicks, 75, died Tuesday, May 10, 2011 at home.
Funeral services were Wednesday at the Stricklin-King Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Caleb Clark officiating. Burial followed at Glenwood Cemetery.
Mr. Hicks was born March 4, 1936 in Yazoo County to James Thomas Hicks and Minnie Alice Graham Hicks. He was retired operator for Mississippi Chemical Corp., a veteran of the U.S. Navy Reserves and a member of Calvary Baptist Church.
He was preceded in death by a daughter, Cindy Nichols; and a sister, Faye Dedmon.
Survivors include his wife, Ruby J. Cain Hicks of Yazoo City; two sons, Ricky Hicks and David Hicks, both of Yazoo City; a daughter, Pam Waldrup of Yazoo City; a sister, Alice Jones of Vicksburg; five grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
Serving as pallbearers were Mike Waldrup, Joe Dan Dickerson, Mark Williams, Thad Hicks, Bubba Hinkle, Page Smith, Clay Creel and Blake Everett.

BETTYE PEPPER

Helen Elizabeth “Bettye” Pepper, 65, died April 29, 2011 at Hearthstone Hospice in Irving, Texas.
Funeral services were May 7 at Concord Cemetery in Pickens with Rev. Roger Richardson officiating.
Miss Pepper, a longtime resident of Dallas, was born in Lexington. She grew up in the Pickens community and graduated from Canton High School. She graduated from Holmes Jr. College, where she was a freshman maid and football cheerleader. She then earned her degree in history from Delta State University and was a member of the KD Sorority.
After graduation, she worked for Delta Airlines as a flight attendant for 25 years. During her tenure with Delta she lived in Atlanta, Miami and Dallas. After retirement she remained in Dallas and worked in the food and beverage industry and then with Home Depot for six years until her death. During her career, she received numerous letters of recommendation and the Platinum Award from Home Depot.
She was preceded in death by her father, William E. Pepper of Benton.
Survivors include: her mother, Audrey Billingslea Pepper of Benton; two brothers: Marvin (Peggy) Pepper of Madison, MS, and Fred (Kimberly) Pepper of Mandeville, LA; two nephews: Clayton and Brad Pepper and one niece, Skylar Pepper. She is also survived by two uncles: William “Billy” Billingslea (JoAnn), and Walter Billingslea (Bettye), both of Pickens, MS; three aunts: Elmease Patton (Joe Dan) and Martha Parker (Lester), both of Pickens, and Emma Pepper of Jackson; and 23 first cousins and a host of other relatives and friends.
Bettye was a true and loyal friend and if you ever met her you would always remember her wit and like her father, loved to tell stories and cite poetry. She loved to tinker and try to fix things by taking them apart. She was also an avid coin and stamp collector and while being raised on a farm, she loved animals especially horses.
During the service when a poem about butterflies, that she had written was being read, a beautiful black and yellow butterfly flew around the guests, lit on her picture, and then quickly disappeared when the poem was finished.