JEANICE KIRKLAND

Jeanice Paul Kirkland, 71, of Andalusia, died Fri., Jan. 2, in a Birmingham hospital.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Mon., Jan. 5, at First Baptist Church of Andalusia.

Interment will be in Andalusia Memorial Cemetery.

Her body will lie in state from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. on Sun., Jan. 4, at Foreman’s Funeral Home.

Survivors include her husband, Jimmy Kirkland; her daughter and son-in-law, Kimberly and Kent Allen Back; and two grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her daughter, Susan Kirkland.

Family and friends unable to attend services may sign the guestbook at www.foremanfuneralhome.com.

 

NELLIE EUGENIA TAYLOR

Mrs. Nellie Eugenia Taylor, 82, of Andalusia, passed away on Wed., Dec. 31, 2014, at her residence.

A memorial service will be held in the spring of 2015, and all family and friends will be notified of the date closer to time.

Mrs. Taylor is survived by her husband, Stanley Earl Taylor; sons and daughter-in-law, James Thomas and Marcia Green Jr. and Ronald Eugene Green; daughter and son-in-law, Elicia Kaye and Joey Meadows; brother, Willie Edmiston; and sisters and brother-in-law, Betty Motley and Laura and Gene St. John.

Family and friends unable to attend may sign an online registry at www.foremanfuneralhome.com.

 

MARY JIM HILSON MERRILL

PIANOWSKI

Mary Jim Hilson Merrill Pianowski died on Dec. 23, 2014.

Mary Jim was born in Enterprise, Ala., on Feb. 16, 1921, to Joe and Ada Ramsey Hilson. Shortly afterward, the family moved to Montgomery where Joe was associated with the Coca-Cola Bottling Company.

Mary Jim graduated from Sidney Lanier High School and attended Huntington College. The next year, she moved with her parents and her brother, Joe Irving Hilson, to Andalusia. It was there she met Walter Oliver Merrill, son of Walter Clement and Mary Theo McLaney Merrill. Mary Jim and Walter attended the University of Alabama. They married in 1941 and moved to Brooklyn, N.Y., where Walter played professional football for the Brooklyn Dodgers. When Walter was drafted into the Army Air Corps during World War ll, Mary Jim moved to various military bases with him. Afterward, the couple returned to Andalusia with their daughter, Marianne, and son, Walter Hilson, to make their home. They were founding members of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Andalusia.

After Walter Oliver Merrill died in 1953, Mary Jim lived in Andalusia for several years before remarrying and moving to Pensacola, Fla., with her husband, Thomas Stanley Pianowski of Pensacola. Several years later, Mary Jim and Tom moved to Ft. Walton Beach, Fla., where they made their home for many years. Mary Jim and Tom were members of St. Simon’s on the Sound Episcopal Church in Ft. Walton Beach. Of particular interest to Mary Jim was St. Simon’s outreach to the homeless and needy served by volunteers in Father Jack’s Kitchen. Her bright spirit, voice of reason, courage, perseverance and openness to new ideas have provided constant inspiration to her family and many friends for decades.

Mary Jim is survived by her son, Dr. Walter Hilson Merrill and wife, Morgan, of Nashville, Tenn; her daughter, Marianne Weber and husband, Alfred, of Prattville; brother-in-law, Dr. Joseph Melton Merrill of Houston, Texas; grandchildren Virginia Kelly Merrill, Gibson Merrill Keith and husband, Julian, Walter Joseph Hilson Merrill and wife, Katherine, all of Nashville; Mary Knox Miller and husband, Matthew, of Boston, Mass., and their children, Oliver Maurice Miller, Evelyn Knox Miller and Adeline Marie Miller; James Benjamin Moates and wife, Darlene, of Destin, Fla.; Dr. Joseph Michael Moates and wife, Kathryn, and their children Emma Kathryn Moates, Elizabeth Merrill Moates and Holley Marie Moates of Indian Springs, Ala.; Seth Merrill Moates and wife, Lisa, and their children Howard Gardner (Trey) Perdue III, James Price Perdue and William Parish Perdue of Millbrook, Ala.; and Mary Elizabeth Lisenby and husband, Adrian, and their children Dustin and Austin Lisenby of Montgomery; and nephews Thomas Hilson of South Carolina and Michael Hilson of North Carolina.

The family expresses gratitude to Emerald Coast Hospice, the doctors, nurses, and staff of Ft. Walton Beach Medical Center, the Rehabilitation Institute of Northwest Florida, and Grand Boulevard Health and Rehabilitation Center for their expert care, kindness, and devoted service.

A private graveside service will be held at a later date at Andalusia Memorial Cemetery in Andalusia.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials to a charity of one’s choice, or to St. Simon’s Episcopal Church, 28 Miracle Strip Parkway SW, Ft. Walton Beach, FL 32548, Attn: Father Cobbs’ Chapel.