•Part 3
"The highest tribute to the dead is not grief but gratitude." -- Thornton Wilder, playwright and novelist
Continued remembrance of friends and family .
Robert Stephen Bateman (1955-2025) who passed away on April 20 was born in New Orleans in 1955 to William "Bill" Edmund and Peggy Jean Bateman. He was the brother of Tina Creel, Martha Bateman, Horton Bateman, and Bill Bateman. I knew the Bateman family through my mother who was acquainted with Bill Bateman in Franklinton during her youth and who became good friends with his wife Peggy when the couple moved here with their family during mine. Horton was close to my age with Tina just a tad older. Their brother Robert Stephen took over the family business W.E. Bateman & Sons Company (Bateman Stress). He was survived by Anne Marie Fennell Bateman, his wife of 49 years, and his children Anna Saxon (Peter), Stephanie Fortenberry (Dustin), Victoria Yniguez (Stephen), Robert Bateman (fiancé Lindsey Heffker), Jacob and Caleb Bateman.
It was through my good friends, the late Ernestine Lanford Miller and her husband Charles C. Miller, and their family, that I recognized her sister Carolyn Lanford Lebo (1948-2025) who passed away on May 9. Her resemblance to Ms. Ernestine was one only sisters share. The daughters of J. L. and Ollie Lanford, they were raised at Mt. Hermon with their siblings Charles (Rachel) Lanford, Peggy (Jessie) Strickland, and Lena Lanford Leonard. Ms. Carolyn was married to Albert James Lebo, Sr., for fifty-seven years. She worked in the Mt. Hermon School cafeteria for many years and was a devoted member of Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church where she assisted with the children's ministries. "In The Garden" was one of Ms. Carolyn's favorite hymns, just as it was my mother's. She was survived by her children Becky (Scott) Magee and Jimmy (Melissa) Lebo.
Linda Jean Burch Folks (1943-2025) who passed away on May 17 was a friend from back in the day. She served on my mother's cookbook (Country Fare) committee. I distinctly remember Ms. Jean's dependability and kindness. The daughter of Joe and Louquiettie Burch, she was the sister of Frances, Billy Joe, and Durwood Burch. Ms. Jean married Jim Folks, and together they had only son Tiger who married Danielle and had her only granddaughter Harley. Ms. Jean was very proud of her family, and always congenial, she was popular among her many friends.
Succumbing way too early, on the sixth of June, was Rev. Frederick Brumfield (1971-2025), son of Denman Colden Brumfield and wife Imogene Thomas Brumfield and brother of Denman "Denny" Colden Brumfield and sister Lisa Brumfield (Brent) Jenkins. His leadership and life of ministry began at an early age, while he was still at Bowling Green where he led devotionals and prayers for students. A pastor at several area churches, Frederick to whom I was kin - my mother was close to his beloved mother Imogene - served for the past twenty-two years at Palestine Baptist Church, a small, beautiful church where, with my mother, I once attended the funeral service of my Aunt Bea Brumfield Mizell. A close-knit, loving congregation, and Frederick was a natural fit. He was survived by his wife of thirty-four years, Tanna McCarty Brumfield, and children Joel (Cheyenne) Brumfield, D'Wayne (Valerie) Brumfield, Destiny (Trevor) Lindsey, and Gabrielle (Logan) McGregor.
Emma Lou Smith (1937-2025) who passed away on June 14 was a fixture in local insurance offices in town, most recently Moore & Jenkins Insurance. And this is where I remember her. The daughter of Howard Smith, Mae Fisher Smith, and stepfather William "Bill" Creel, she was survived by two sisters Glenda Smith Givens and Anita Creel Dryman and predeceased by two brothers Bobby Joe Smith and Howard Oakley Smith. An avid gardener, Emma was a devoted member of Bogue Chitto Baptist Church, singing in the church choir.
In the course of writing my column over the years, I've been lucky to visit with a lot of locals. And William Russell Creel, Sr., (1943-2025) and wife Becky, married fifty-six years, were in that number. Neighbors, residing a stone's throw from our farm, they kindly welcomed me to their home for a conversation about quilts - Becky is an expert - several years ago. And Mr. Russell was right there by Ms. Becky's side, proudly displaying the exquisite quilts.
He passed away on June 26 last year. Born in 1943 on the same land he lived on to age eighty-two, he was the son of Ottis Creel and Hilda Crowe Creel. A 1961 graduate of Franklinton High School, Russell matriculated at Southeastern Louisiana University where he received his Bachelor of Science degree in Dairy Science. He also served in the United States Army Reserve Military Police from 1967-1971. And he became a successful dairy farmer, dairying for more than sixty-three years and earning prestigious honors - Dairyman of the Year by both the Dairy Science Club at LSU and the Dairy Industry Promotion Board. Serving as District Director of the State Farm Bureau Board for two years, Mr. Russell was also on the Farm Bureau Board in various capacities, beginning in 1972 and continuing until his passing. And throughout, he was an active member of Acy's Creek Missionary Baptist Church where he served as church clerk for more than fifty years. In addition to his beloved wife Becky, he was survived by their children William Benedict "Benny" (Missy) Creel, Martha Claudine (Keith) Boos, and William Russell "Rusty" (Johnna) Creel, Jr. I would be remiss if I didn't mention Russell's sister Carolyn (Donald) Daniel, also my friend.
Well-known local Margaret Jane Knight Smith left this world on the first day of July, nearly sixth months to the day following her husband Walter Louis Smith's demise. The daughter of Meadie Knight and Iva Jane Bennett Knight, Margaret graduated in 1961 from Franklinton High School where she played in the marching band. It was at First Baptist Church of Franklinton where she was a lifelong member and taught children's Sunday School and at the Franklinton Post Office where she worked for twenty-seven years that I got to know her. By the time my only child Betsy toddled in the Post Office with her Pa-pa, Ms. Margaret was waiting with stickers in hand. And her generosity extended to her younger siblings, nieces, nephews, and cousins - she lent them a hand whenever needed. Margaret was survived by Bubba and Arjaree, her two step-children; her siblings Marilyn (Clarence) Russell, William P. (Katherine) Knight, and Joseph M. "Joey" Knight, Jr.; and her brother-in-law Luke Van Muylem.
