Glenn Boyd Williams

Glenn Boyd Williams, 94, of Burnsville, Mississippi, died Thursday, May 10, 2007, at the Carrington House in Iuka, Mississippi. Born May 27, 1912, in Marietta, MS, he was the son of Oscar Hiram and Lora Dell Alexander Williams and the great-grandson of Marietta’s first settlers who arrived from Habersham County, GA, in 1842. A longtime Church of Christ member, his life was devoted to education in Northeast Mississippi. His 32-year career included service as a teacher, basketball coach, or principal in several communities including Blythe’s Chapel, Zion’s Rest, Marietta, Rienzi, Dennis, Belmont, Alva, Hatley, Hamilton, and Burnsville. He taught Bible classes at several local Churches of Christ; coached the Belmont Lady Cardinals state champion girls basketball team in 1948; and worked for the state Department of Education from 1951 to 1956. His education career began with classes at Freed Hardeman College in Henderson, TN; Murray State Teachers College in Murray, KY; Union University in Jackson, TN; a master’s degree from Mississippi State University in Starkville; and several years as a recruiter for Freed Hardeman College. He enlisted in the U. S. military during WWII and was a contractor in the Bermuda Islands for the U. S. Navy in 1941. He was later stationed in Goldsboro, NC, for the U. S. Air Force. He operated a long-running book business from his Burnsville home and had a 30-year sales career for Benefic Press that included several top national sales honors. He also maintained a 175-acre cattle farm in Dennis after his retirement and pursued a longtime interest in genealogy. He was a 32nd degree Mason, a member of the Order of the Red Red Rose, a past president of the Tishomingo County Retired Teachers Association, and a regional president of the Northeast Mississippi Retired Teachers Association. Visitation is scheduled for 5:00 until 9:00 p.m., Saturday, May 12, at Cutshall Funeral Home in Iuka. Funeral services are scheduled for 2:00 p.m., Sunday, May 13, at Cutshall Funeral Home Chapel in Iuka, officiated by J. T. Smith. Interment will follow in Burnsville Cemetery. Pallbearers include Alvia Blakney, Jeff Blackburn, Marion Crawford, Gerald Parsons, Jim Barnett, and Gary Orick. Cutshall Funeral Home of Iuka, MS is entrusted with arrangements. Survivors include 1 son, Dale Williams and wife, Margie, of Iuka, MS; a son-in-law, Travis Rushing of Florence, AL; 2 grandchildren, J. Taylor Rushing of Tallahassee, FL, and Holly Angela Williams Blackburn of Florence, AL; and 2 great-grandchildren, Rhiannon Marisa Ramsey and Julie Mary Blackburn, both of Florence, AL. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Mary Catherine Patterson; his second wife, Carlyn Crawford McHaffey; his daughter, Sylvia Williams Rushing; a granddaughter, Amanda Rushing; and a great-grandson, Noah Fisher Blackburn. Memorials may be made to the Burnsville Church of Christ.