RUTH BASSETT
Funeral services for “Aunt Ruth” Bassett will be Friday at 1 p.m. at St. Francis Catholic Church.
Family hour will be Thursday from 6-7 p.m. at Century Funeral Home.
A complete obituary will be published following the funeral.

HUBERT COLE Sr.
Hubert Lee Cole Sr., 74, died Jan. 28, 2012.
Funeral services were Saturday at Tri-Union M.B. Church with Rev. A.B. Brown officiating. Burial followed at Whites Lane Cemetery under the direction of Century Funeral Home.
Mr. Cole was born Dec. 25, 1937 in Yazoo County to Roosevelt Paul and O.C. Cole.
Survivors include a companion, Melar Grayer; two sons, Hubert Lee Cole Jr. (Patrice) of Yazoo City and Peter Lowe of Wisconsin; step-daughter, Rosie Felton (Major) of Yazoo City; brothers, Johnny L. Cole (Sandy) and Marc W. Cole, both of Oklahoma City; five sisters, May Cole Smiley of Tulsa, Okla., Bertha Redmond of Chicago, Barbara J. Davis (Jerry) of Flint, Mich., Donna M. Diabate (Muhamed) of Baltimore and Sherry Akins (Paul) of Edmond, Calif.; three grandchildren; 10 grandchildren; and a host of other relatives and friends.
Serving as pallbearers were Howard Hackett, Mike Cole, Robert Cole, Curtis Cole, Chris Cole and James Cole.
Honorary pallbearers were Hubert Cole Jr., Marc Cole, Bobby Cole, Roosevelt Cole Jr., Johnny Cole and Patrick Cole.

ED DEW
Edward Lee “Ed” Dew, 67, died Sunday, Feb. 5, 2012 at Hospice Ministries in Ridgeland.
Funeral services were Tuesday at Parkview Church of God with Rev. Ken Lynch officiating. Burial followed at Glenwood Cemetery under the direction of Stricklin-King Funeral Home.
Mr. Dew was born Dec. 12, 1944 in Yazoo City to William F. and Minnie Burnham Dew. He was the District 4 Supervisor of Yazoo County and was the vice president of the Board of Supervisors. He was a member of Parkview Church of God.
Survivors include his wife, Jayne Dew of Yazoo City; two daughters, Brenda Lee Dew of Benton and Pam Nelson of Franklin, Tenn.; a son, David Whatley of Yazoo City; two sisters, Joy Janelle Purvis of Yazoo City and Fay Broom of West Monroe, La.; and three grandchildren, Allison Bennett, Christian Lee Bennett and Jason Bennett.
Serving as pallbearers were Kenny Saxton, Owen Graves, Jason Dew, Carl Williams, David Banks and Buddy Cotten.

GEORGE GUTHRIE Sr.
George James Guthrie Sr., 90, died Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012 at the G.V. Montgomery VA Medical Center in Jackson.
Funeral services were Monday at Short Creek Baptist Church with Rev. O.D. Allen officiating. Burial followed at the church cemetery under the direction of Stricklin-King Funeral Home.
Mr. Guthrie was born June 30, 1921 in Yazoo City to Jim George Guthrie and Matilda Pittman Guthrie. He was a U.S. Army veteran of World War II, retired from insurance sales and a member of Alta Woods Baptist Church.
Survivors include his wife, Ruth Inez W. Guthrie of Jackson; two sons, George Guthrie Jr. of Somerville, Tenn. and Richie Guthrie of Jackson; a daughter, Sherry G. Casteel of Brandon; a sister, Annie Mae Carter of Georgia; a brother, Robert Guthrie of Yazoo City; four grandsons, Kevin Guthrie, Jason Guthrie, Kurt Guthrie and Daniel Guthrie; and eight great-grandchildren.
Serving as pallbearers were his sons and grandsons.

DONALD HANKS
Donald Ward Hanks, 90, of Smithville, Mo. died Monday, Feb. 6, 2012 at home.
Funeral services are Thursday at 11:30 a.m. at  Smithville Christian Church. Burial will follow at  Smithville Memorial Cemetery.
Mr. Hanks was born in Platte County on Jan. 14, 1922 to Clint and Myrtle Lowman Hanks. After high school Ward worked in the bomber plant in Fairfax until being drafted in March 1943.  He was trained as an aerial gunner and served in the Army’s 9th Air Force, in the 409th Bomb Group, 641st Bomber Squadron in World War II. He flew 65 bombing missions over France and Germany including two on D-Day.  
He was discharged in July 1945 with the rank of Staff Sgt. In 1947 he married Mary Kathryn Byrd of Yazoo City and made their home in Smithville.
He  was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Kathryn; brothers, J.C., Clifford, Glen, Harrol, and Robert, and sister Virginia Summers.
Survivors include his children; Don Hanks (Rita) of Smithville, Glenda Cantwell of Smithville, Sarah Singleton and (Shelby) of Dearborn, Mo., and Tom Hanks of Smithville; five grandchildren; three great-grandchildren.; brother-in-law William Byrd of Yazoo City an a host of other relatives and friends.

EZRIE LEVISON
Ezrie “Honey” Levison, 73, died February 1, 2012.
Funeral services were Sunday at Greater Sonora M.B. Church with Rev. Emanuel Thompson officiating. Burial followed at Christian Grove Church Cemetery under the direction of Century Funeral Home.
Mr. Levison was born Jan. 16, 1939 in Yazoo City to Fate Levison Sr. and Laura Turner Levison. He graduated from N.D. Taylor High and was a self employed brick mason until his health failed. He was a member of Christian Grove M.B. Church.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Mary Lou McCray; a brother, Fate Levison Jr.; and his parents.
Survivors include a daughter, Mary Louise McCray of Jackson; aunts, Mary Frances Moris and Christella Levison, both of Yazoo City; and Dorothy Russell of Chicago; and a host of other relatives and friends.
Serving as pallbearers were Ronricko Levison, James Cole, Terry Levison, Anthony Taylor, Terrance Epps and Damien Thompson.
Honorary pallbearers were Kegan Claybon, Fredrick Claybon, Ira Levison, Darryl Levison, Percy Levison, Ira Johnson and Sullivan Johnson.

CLAIBORNE SAXTON Jr.
Claiborne Saxton Jr., 79, died Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012.
Visitation is today from 12:30-2 p.m. at Stricklin-King Funeral Home.
Funeral services are today at 2 p.m. at the Stricklin-King Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. David Bryant and Rev. Roger Richardson officiating. Burial will follow at Glenwood Cemetery.
Mr. Saxton was born Feb. 26, 1932 in Yazoo County to Claiborne Saxton Sr. and Annie J. Wooten Saxton. He served in the Vietnam War for three years as a munitions maintenance supervisor in Bien Hoa. He was a 20-year veteran of the U.S. Air Force, serving as a staff sergeant.
After retiring from the Air Force, he servied as a commissioned police officer of the city of Gulfport. He was a member of the Mississippi City Baptist Church in Gulfport and helped in the building of the church.
He was preceded in death by his parents; two sons, Mitchell Saxton and Dale Saxton; two brothers, C.B. Saxton and Travis Saxton; and one sister, Nola Saxton Hyde.
Survivors include a daughter, Nona Saxton Lindberg of Perkinston; a sister, Dorothy Saxton Ashley of Yazoo City; a brother, Billy D. Saxton of Gulfport; four grandchildren, Michelle Johnson, Christy Saxton Anderson, Matthew Saxton and Heather Lindberg; five great-grandchildren, Robert Wright, Evan Dale Anderson, Gage Saxton, Sierra Saxton and Jordan Johnson.
Serving as pallbearers are Matthew Saxton, Roger Richardson Jr., Travis Saxton, Jordan Johnson, Cody Richardson and Darrell Saxton.