Dear "Cousins,"
Tuesday, January 11, 2005, about 1:30 a.m., our much loved historian, researcher,
email friend, and co-author of "The Whigham Chronicles" departed
this earth. Robert died as he lived - in his own way. He passed away at
his home at 1400 Dauphin Street in Mobile, Alabama. He will be buried today,
Thursday, January 13th, in Magnolia Cemetery in Mobile. A native Mobilian,
Robert was the third child and only son of Robert Elmore Sr. and Edith Parker
Whigham. He was preceded in death by his parents, his sister, Elizabeth,
and a daughter, Ann Cowles Whigham.
He is survived by his companion of many years, Bea Alsup, his daughter,
Angela Bell, son Robert III,, grandson, John Maurice Bell, two granddaughters,
Lillian Ann Bell, and Allie Josephine Whigham, a sister, Barbara Ann Neuhoff,
three nephews and four nieces.
But, to those of us who benefitted by Robert's depth and breath of family
research, Robert will live on as the spirit behind "The Whigham Chronicles."
He was the one who constantly prodded and questioned me about the progress
of the work. He spent innumerable hours on the phone and the internet
ferreting out the smallest bit of new information. I received countless
forwarded emails from him, and many of you may have first learned of the
effort to chronicle the journey of the Whigham family across this land
by an email from Robert.
Robert touched each of your lives in a very meaningful way - even if you
never met him. Without Robert, the Whigham family history would not be
as complete as it is and, without him, the Chronicles would not have been
written at this time. No one contributed more to the writing of this book
than he did. His one burning question to the end was, "What ship
did Thomas Whigham come to Georgia on?" And, unless some younger
Whighams pick up the torch Robert so valiantly carried, we may never know
the answer to that question.
We will all miss him. And, I shall especially miss him. Robert was more
than a co-author to me. He was my friend, someone who shared my passion
about genealogy and, as he always reminded me - he was my "Double
Cousin." For Robert and I were related through both our Whigham and
Simpson lines.
Your "cousin,"
Joyce Whigham Dorrycott
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Kenneth Doal Knotts
Ken Knotts, 51, of Ellisville, died Sunday, June 18, 2006, at Forrest General
Hospital in Hattiesburg.
Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday, at Memory Chapel Funeral
Home in Laurel, with burial in Old Fellowship Cemetery in Jones County. The
Revs. Valton Douglas and Hiram Eaves will officiate.
He was a truck driver for Robison Tire Co. and was a member of First United
Methodist Church in Ellisville.
He was preceded in death by his grandfather, Dozier Daniel Long; grandmother,
Ruth Long; grandparents, Louis and Carrie Knotts; and father-in-law, David Walters.
He is survived by his wife, Shelia Knotts of Ellisville; a daughter, Emily Knotts
of Ellisville; a son, John Knotts of Ellisville; two stepsons, Tony Pool and
Jared Pool, both of Ellisville; parents, Herb and Barbara Knotts of Ellisville;
a brother, Kelvin Knotts of Ellisville; a sister, Kenda Covington of Ellisville;
four grandchildren, Dustin Knotts, Casey Pool, Cody Pool and Joshua Pool; and
a host of nieces and nephews.
Pallbearers were Wayne Walters, Gary Walters, Doug Hopkins, Jeremy Walters,
Larry Busby and Joel Lapeyrouse.
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Deaths in Other Years Prior to 2006
Roland Whigham
Roland L. Whigham, age 79, of Lowery, Alabama died in
Veteran's Hospital in Montgomery on Sunday, February 10, 2002. Funeral
services were held at 2 P.M. from the Lowery Church of Christ with Miles
King officiating. Burial followed in the Lowery Cemetery.
Whigham was preceded in death by his mother, Lilla Whigham;
his father, Loyd Whigham; three brothers, Euell Whigham, Donald Whigham, and
Farrin Whigham; and one sister, Jeanette Mast.
Survivors include his wife, Evelyn Ezell Whigham; one son,
Dean Whigham; three daughters, Linda Russell, Melody Hawthorne, and Patti
Whigham; five sisters, Edna Johnson, Carolyn Simmons, Reba Johnson, Oleene
Benefield, and Ann Tuggle; two brothers, Johnny Whigham and Billy Whigham;
four grandchildren, Lance Russell, Leah Russell, Adam Hawthorne, and April
Hawthorne; and one great grandson, Matthew Russell.
He was a 20-year veteran of the US Army, retiring at the
rank of Master Sergeant. He served in World War II and the Korean War.
Pallbearers were Lance Russell, Adam Hawthorne, Sherman
Johnson, Stanley Johnson, Scott Whigham, and Terry Drinkwater.
2002 Deaths
During the past months a number of our
Whigham family members have passed away. On May 21, 2002, S.L. "Estelle"
Fleming Whigham, the mother of our by-laws chair, Joseph Jerome Whigham,
departed this earth in Orange County, Florida.
Her death was followed by the death of
Etha Lee Whigham Simmons on May 25th, in the Opp, Alabama,
Nursing Home. Etha was the mother of three daughters - Judy Fleming,
Elizabeth Simmons and Margaret Hudson.
Then, on June 6th,
John Scott Whigham died in Geneva County, Alabama at the age of 48. He was
the son of Johnny Whigham and father to two sons, Joshua Scott and Zachery.
On October 20th,
Vernon Whigham, the father of our Vice President, Myron Whigham, passed away
in the Opp Nursing Home at the age of 90. He is survived by five children -
Myron, Burnell, Pat, Byron and Royce. His wife, Lizzie Canant Whigham, and a
son, Sidney Harold, preceded him in death.
Our thoughts and
prayers are with all these families in these difficult days
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