Avis Lane

CHARLESTON - Avis L. Ford Lane, 91, of Charleston Route 1, died at 2:35 a.m. Aug. 17, 2003, at the Charleston Manor.

Born May 20, 1912, in Harrisburg, Ill., daughter of the late E.G. and Maude Church Ford, she was raised near Sikeston. She owned and operated a hotel at San Bernardino, Calif., during World War II and then returned to the Charleston area in 1946. A land owner and farmer in Mississippi County, she attended New Bethel Baptist Church and the Bridges Community Methodist Church near Sikeston and was a member of Sikeston Eagles Aerie 3319 Ladies Auxiliary and VFW Post 3174 Ladies Auxiliary.

Her husbands, Goburn Wheeler, Henry L. Cherry and Milton Lane, preceded her in death.

Survivors include: one daughter, Delores Brown of Charleston; and four grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

Also preceding her in death were one son, Garnett "Sonny" Wheeler; seven brothers, two sisters and one grandson, Jack Brown.

Services are scheduled for 2 p.m. today at Nunnelee Funeral Chapel in Sikeston. The Rev. Dewayne Coleman, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Canalou, will officiate.

Burial will follow in Memorial Park Cemetery in Sikeston.

Pallbearers will be: Riley Brown III, T. Lynn Brown, Junior DeLay, David Jackson Jr., Tyson DeLay and Heath Self.