Bessie Parris

DEXTER -- Bessie A. Parris, 80, died Feb. 10, 2003, at the Missouri Southern Healthcare Facility in Dexter.

Born June 7, 1922, in Lepanto, Ark., daughter of the late William Christopher and Annie Elizabeth Hibbs Henson, she had lived in Dexter most of her life and was retired from the Brown Shoe Co. in Bernie. She was a member of the Southwest Church of the Nazarene in Dexter.

On Oct. 15, 1938, in Caruthersville, she married Paul Elmer Parris who preceded her in death on Dec. 5, 1991.

Survivors include: two sons, Noah "Bill" Parris of Dexter and David E. Parris of St. Louis; six daughters, Tressie Pat Ledford of Cleveland, Tenn., Carol S. Swallows of Dexter, Anita A. Lee of Advance, Mary E. Carter of Poplar Bluff, Pauletta Fyffe of Hosington, Kan., and Kathy D. Bathan of Carbondale, Ill.; and 22 grandchildren and several great-grandchildren.

One son, Roger D. Parris, preceded her in death on Sept. 23, 1997.

Visitation is from 5-8 p.m. Wednesday at Watkins and Sons Funeral Home in Dexter where services are scheduled for 1 p.m. Thursday. The Rev. Avis Murray of Dexter and Rev. Scott Ledford of Cleveland will officiate.

Burial will follow in the Dexter Cemetery.