James Erving

SIKESTON - James Ruben Erving, 47, died Jan. 12, 2002, at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Memphis, Tenn.

Born June 6, 1954, in Crenshaw, Miss., son of Clara Hankins of Sikeston and the late Ruben Erving, he lived in Essex before serving in the U.S. Army and moved to Sikeston in 1977. A graduate of Richland High School in Essex, he was a member of Greer's Chapel Baptist Church and received the Golden Poet Award in 1987.

Survivors in addition to his mother include: one son, Courtney Erving Baker of Cincinnati, Ohio; one daughter, Patricia Smooth of Malden; his stepfather, Charlie Hankins Sr. of Sikeston; two stepbrothers, Charlie Hankins Jr. of Sikeston and Sheldon Hankins of Kansas City; one stepsister, Dearmond D. Wofford of Kansas City; his maternal grandmother, Grace Wynn of Sikeston; and four grandchildren.

Visitation is from noon Saturday until service time at 1 p.m. at Watkins and Sons Funeral Home in Dexter. The Rev. Ronald Williams Sr. of Sikeston will officiate.

Burial will follow in Sunset of Memories Cemetery in Sikeston.