Bess Gilder Fleming

1928 - 2018

Bess Gilder Fleming

Ridgeland - Bess Gilder Fleming died Thursday, December 20, 2018 at Beau Ridge in Ridgeland, MS. She was 90.

A native of and raised in Vardaman, Mississippi, she was born August 9, 1928, the daughter of the late Rufus R. and Wilka Inmon Gilder. She was a proud graduate of Mississippi College where she received her baccalaureate degree in education. She met and married her husband, Van Fleming, and moved to Starkville where they raised their family. Mrs. Fleming was a longtime member of First Baptist Church in Starkville.

Bess was a most wonderful, devoted, and loving wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, sister, and friend. Her greatest joy was her family. She was very skilled at sewing and a very talented cook which her family enjoyed very much. She will be missed dearly and remembered always.

In addition to her parents, she is preceded in death by her husband of 50 years, Van Fleming; sisters, Alma Edmondson and Sarah Edmondson; brothers: Rufus Gilder, Gene Gilder, Jasper Gilder, and Tom Gilder.

She is survived by her daughters: Emily Smith (Alan), of Calgary, Alberta, Canada; Ava Williams (Lionel), of Ridgeland, MS; Kim Stockton (Bill), of Birmingham, AL; sister, Jacqueline Eastridge, of Memphis, TN; grandchildren: Vanessa Rennie, Claire O'Connor, Ashley Tolbert, Mary Sessions Tolbert, Lake Tolbert, Jonathan Stockton, Drew Stockton, and Reed Stockton; five great grandchildren; and a host of nieces, nephews, and other relatives.

Graveside services will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, December 23, 2018 at Midway Baptist Church Cemetery in Vardaman, MS.

The family wishes to extend their deepest appreciation and gratitude to the entire staff of Beau Ridge in Ridgeland for their wonderfully loving and compassionate care shown to Bess.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital or to a charity of your choice.