Mearly Ratliff and 1893

GULFPORT -- Just ran across an old set of obituaries that featured a gentleman reported to have been 111 years old when he passed away in May 2005.

Wow!

The obit failed to mention an exact date for the death of Mearly Ratliff, but it said he was born Nov. 10, 1893, in Tylertown, Miss. So was American novelist John P. Marquand, who died in 1960.

A little over a month later, on Dec. 26, Chinese leader Mao Zedong was born. He died in 1976.

During that year, on Jan. 17, the U.S. Marines intervened in Hawaii, resulting in the overthrow of the government of Queen Liliuokalani. On Feb. 1, Thomas A. Edison finished construction of the first motion picture studio in West Orange, N.J.

President Benjamin Harris was succeeded by Stephen Grover Cleveland on March 4; the first recorded college basketball game was played April 8, 1893, in Beaver Fall, Pa., between the Geneva College Covenanters and the New Brighton YMCA; The 1893 World's Fair, also known as the World's Columbian Expostion, opened to the public in Chicago on May1. It closed Oct.

On May 10, the United States Supreme Court legally declared the tomato to be a vegetable. Actually, it's a fruit.

More historical events, births and deaths during 1893 may be found at www.wikipedia.org.

Interestingly enough, searches for information about another centenarian yielded a site that named Mr. Ratliff and a number of others beyond 99 years on a Table of False and Exaggerated Claims.

So there's some doubt?

Proven? Unproven? by the Table. Or is the Table itself false in its claim?

Curious.

And this site has, at this point, made no claim either way. We can only report what was written in the obit found in a reputable publication in South Mississippi.

According to the obituary, Mr. Ratliff was a member of Mt. Bethel Baptist Church in Gulfport. He was retired as a laborer from the railroad where he worked for about 35 years.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Pearly Ratliff, parents York Ratliff and Ada Danosas Ratliff, son R.C. Ratliff, and 22 siblings.

That many brothers and sisters deserve a Wow! all by themselves.

In 2005, Ratliff's survivors included sons Elder Henry Ratliff and John Henry Ratliff, both of Houston, Texas; seven daughters including Arvyzena (Otha) Sallis, Bertha Hudnall, Ernesting Edwards, Gladys Herrien, Bobbie Briggs, all of Gulfport, and Christina Briggs and Mearline Dugar, also of Houston, Texas, and 38 grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren, eight great-great-grandchildren, and one great-great-great-grandchild.

Funeral services were held May 26, 2005, at New Home Church of Christ Holiness USA in Jayess, Miss., with burial at the church cemetery.

Caring For Elderly Relatives…A Little Understanding Goes a Long Way

PASCAGOULA -- Eighty percent of men and women over age 65 are healthy and able to manage their own lives. In fact, many remain very active.

Most of the 20% who are not healthy are over age 75. About 5% of the elderly are in institutions, nursing homes, or homes for the aged at any given time.

Understanding Loss

If there’s one word that’s common to people who have lived a long life – it’s loss. They’ve said so many goodbyes.

They’ve said goodbye to their youth, possibly their health, and probably their work life. They may also have said goodbye to financial security, home and possessions, loved ones, parents, a spouse, siblings, life long friends.

It’s the accumulation of these losses that can overwhelm an elderly person. You may see anger, sadness, and anxiety about the future: These are all perfectly normal and therapeutic

reactions.

Don’t feel you always have to “put on a happy face.” When we are always cheery and don’t allow very ill or older people to express losses and grief, we deny them an opportunity to talk about what’s real and important to them.

‘Odd’ behavior is often OK. While frustrating to family members, the behaviors listed below are perfectly rational to the elderly person trying to keep some measure of control over his or her life. In short, they’re coping mechanisms.

5 Important things to keep in mind:

1. As people age, they don’t automatically become “sweet little old ladies or men” unless they were “sweet” before.

2. Admit that the person complaining about aching joints today is the same one who complained about other things when he or she was younger.

3. Understand that aging affects people in different ways (i.e., some people won’t consider wearing a hearing aid while others take it in stride).

4. Be considerate. It’s very common for hairdressers, health-care professionals, bankers, etc., to speak “across” the elderly person to the caregiver. When you see this happening, refer the question to your elderly relative. “Mother, when did that pain begin – why don’t you tell the nurse about it.”

5. Trust your relatives to know their own minds. Talk adult-to-adult when speaking to older relatives. Let them make their own choices.

If your relative resists your help, just keep reinforcing that you’ll be there if needed. Have a plan in place for when your help is accepted.

 Realize that care giving is not about taking control of others' lives, but helping them through some difficult changes.

 Have family "talks" in person or by phone. Include the person who needs care, siblings, and anyone else who would be able to help. Talk about "what ifs.”

 Sketch out plans for helping your relative to: 1) stay at home; 2) down-size to a smaller house or apartment; 3) stay with one or more of you (although one person's home is best); and 4) begin to adjust to the idea of a long-term care facility.

- Identify your elderly relative's current support system.

doctor, pharmacist, lawyer, banker, church or temple, friends, neighbors, or in-home helpers. Express your thanks and ask them to call you if something is amiss.

- Check your library and bookstores for the many books on care giving. The library may have a copy of a timeless and helpful article appearing in Modern Maturity (August/September 1987).

 Find help for paperwork (e.g., Medicare, Medicaid, insurance forms, etc.). A social worker from your relative's hospital, or someone from AARP or your area agency on aging could offer invaluable help.

Start a 3-ring notebook:

1. Use dividers for health information, housing, service providers, financial/legal supportive friends and neighbors, and to-do lists.

2. Find an inexpensive wall calendar, punch holes, and insert it in your notebook for keeping track of doctor’s appointments, etc.

3. Take note of your relative’s physical condition, emotional situations, how he or she spends time and medications. Take the notes to doctor appointments.

4. List numbers: your relative’s social security, medical ID, insurance plan and emergency numbers.

5. Keep track of insurance policies and medical bills. Take note whether insurance policies cover home health care or prescription drugs.

6. List any adaptive devices. Hearing aids? Bifocals? Cane? Walker? Note phone numbers of your relative’s audiologist (hearing specialist), optometrist, and medical supply company.

If you need more information to assist you when caring for elderly relatives or friends, contact Bettye Wadsworth, Child and Family Development Area extension agent, at 228-769-3047, or bettyew@ext.msstate.edu .

Margaret "Peg" Roberts Tremmel

Always like to give teachers their due. So this older obit caught my attention about a former teacher at St. Theresa's in D'Iberville who died at 100 years old.

Margaret "Peg" Roberts Tremmel of Biloxi passed away March 6, 2007.

She was a native of Little Rock, Ark., and a resident of Biloxi for over 75 years. Mrs. Tremmel received her first communion at St. Mary's Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind.

She attended Georgetown Visitation High School in Washington, D.C. She graduated from Gulf Park Junior College for Women and taught physical education for four years. There she met and married Louis Tremmel Sr, a union that last over 50 years.

After raising a family she went back to teaching and taught third grade at St. Theresa's in D'Iberville for eight years. She was a member of Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Cathedral and a member of the Nativity Altar Society.

She was an active volunteer for the Biloxi Regional Memorial Hospital for over 25 years. She was a member of the Azalea Garden Club, The Legion of Mary, a charter member Billikens, and a member of the United Daughters of the Confederacy Biloxi Chapter 623.

Tremmel was preceded in death by husband Louis August Tremmel Sr., daughter Margaret Cunningham Tremmel Peresich, parents Burdette and Sarah Murphy Roberts, brothers Gus and Burt Roberts, and sister Catherine Roberts. Her mother's family were pioneers in the state of Arkansas.

Tremmel, at her death in 2007, left four children: Louis August Tremmel Jr., Sarah Roberts Pitalo, Mary Ott Davison and Burt August Tremmel Sr., 11 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren and one great-great grandson.

Funeral services were conducted at Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and burial was at Southern Memorial Park. Bradford-O'Keefe Funeral Home was in charge of funeral services.

Thelma Inez Smoot

Mrs. Thelma Inez Smoot, 101, was a native of Portland, Ore., where she was born Dec. 5, 1907.  She died March 9, 2009. 

She moved to Imperial Valley, Calif., with her family in 1914, where she lived until relocating to Ocean Springs in 1997. 

Smoot's husband, John Magruder Smoot, whom she lived with 52 years, parents Frank and Vivian Nutbrown, brother Richard Nutbrown, sister Alna Simmons,  and grandson Robert John Graetz all preceded her in death.  

Survivors include daughter Phyllis Jean Luter, granddaughter Jerilyn (Wayne) Henry, six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. 

Smoot spent the last days of her life in a Vancleave personal care home operated by Karen Richards, Aileen Dewberry and Jessie Bang. 

Interment is at Evergreen Cemetery in Ocean Springs, where services were rendered by Bradford-O'Keefe Funeral Home. 

Camp Bluebird deadline March 6

March 6 is the deadline for campers and volunteers to apply for this spring's Camp Bluebird, the semi-annual weekend retreat for adult cancer survivors. 

The camp will be held March 27 - 29 at the USM Gulf Coast Research Lab in Ocean Springs. 

Applications are available at the Regional Cancer Center at Singing River Hospital in Pascagoula and at Ocean Springs Hospital. Residents may call 228-809-5251 or 228-809-CAMP(2267).

Camp Bluebird, held each spring and fall, offers cancer survivors an opportunity to share experiences and support each other for one to three days during the event.  

Information provided by Singing River Health System. 

Hazel Lamey Brown Robinson

Hazel Lamey Brown Robinson, 99, of Biloxi died of natural causes on Sunday, Feb. 17, 2008.

Hazel was a life member of First Baptist Church of Biloxi. She also participated in Order of the Eastern Star, Women in Construction (WIC), Sun Kist Garden Club, 8/40 Club, and American Legion Auxiliary.

Robinson was owner of Brown Sand & Gravel Co. and involved in the original construction of the old Spanish Trail (now U.S. 90 -- Beach Blvd), original shell roads -- New Orleans to Venice in Louisiana -- and roads and runways at Keesler Air Force Base. She was involved in many other real estate business entities on the Gulf Coast.

She was preceded in death by her first husband, Bernal Brown, second husband Edgar O. Robinson, mother Elsie Irma Krohn, sister Josephine Bell, brothers Buddy and John Lamey, and daughter Eula Lee Brown Reneer.

Survivors included brother Clayton Brown, grandchildren Janice Rhea Winans, Russell Brown Reneer and his wife Barbara, Bernal Vincent Reneer and his wife Mary; great-grandchildren Brandy King, Amanda Winans, Amanda Reneer, Emily Reneer and Cole Reneer; and great-great grandson Jared King.

Bradford-O'Keefe Funeral Homes in Biloxi handled funeral visitation and service. Interment is at Biloxi City Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers the family asked for donations to the American Cancer Society, 182-A DeBuys Road, Biloxi, MS 39531.

Annie A. Curtis

Discovered an obit today for Annie A. Curtis, who passed away May 6, 2007. The surprise came when learning that Jan. 26 was her birthdate.  

She was born in 1908 and was 99 at the time of her death in Ocean Springs.  

How blessed is that, to be able to honor her memory on her birthday, and the wisdom she brought to those around her. According to the obituary, Curtis was born in the Daisy Vestry community. She moved away and lived in several states before returning to South Mississippi. 

Annie Curtis, who had been married to the late Bruce Curtis, was a devoted nurse and special aunt to her many nephews and nieces. She was a longtime member of St. Paul Methodist Church in Ocean Springs. 

Preceding her own passing were her parents, Joseph and Matilda Jane Hawley, one sister and five brothers.  

Through the years Annie A. Curtis saw numerous changes in the world. Let's see what they were.

Jan. 26, 1908 -- Birthday of Stephane Grappelli, British jazz/violinist

Jan. 26, 1918 -- President Hoover calls for "wheatless" and "meatless" days for war effort 

Jan. 26, 1928 -- No information found.

Jan. 26, 1938 -- No information found.

Jan. 26, 1948 --Executive Order 9981, end segregation in U.S. Armed Forces signed; Ignaz Friedman, composer, dies at 65 

Jan. 26, 1958 --H Laskow replaces Moshe Dayan on as Israeli minister of Defense; Jack Smith takes over for Art Baker as TV host of "You Asked for It": Marlene Hagge wins LPGA Lake Worth Open Golf Invitational 

Jan. 26, 1968 --Israeli submarine Dakar crashes in Mediterranean Sea, 69 die; Death of Weegee and Arthur Fellig, both American photographers, and Kenneth Scott Latourette, American historian. 

Jan. 26, 1978 --Strikers riot in Tunisia, killing about 40; Mario Soares forms Portuguese government; International Ultraviolet Explorer placed in Earth orbit; Frank Herbert completes his novel "Destination: Void"; Leo Genn, actor (Lady Chatterley's Lover, Henry V), dies at 72 

Jan. 26, 1988 --Australia's 200th anniversary-parade of tall ships in Sydney Harbor; "Phantom of the Opera" opens at Majestic Theater New York City for 4,000+ performances; Death of Raymond Williams, Welsh novelist.

Jan. 26, 1998 -- Intel launches 333 MHz Pentium II chip; President Clinton says "I want to say one thing to the American people I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky"; 25th American Music Award: Spice Girls and Babyface win; Music educator Shinichi Suzuki "developed the ""Suzuki Method"" which taught violin to children", dies at 98; Walter Edmonds, writer (Drums Along the Mohawk), dies at 93 

May 06, 2007 -- 11 U.S. soldiers and a Russian journalist were in Iraq, six of them in Diyala when a roadside bomb struck their vehicle; Pro-American conservative Nicolas Sarkozy was elected president of France; a massive tornado obliterated most of Greensburg, Kansas, killing eight. Two others died elsewhere during weekend weather across the Plain states.

Access www.brainyhistory.com for information listed on this site.    

http://www.brainyhistory.com/days/january_26.html

http://www.brainyhistory.com/events/1968/january_26_1968_134343.html