Douglas Earl Kirk, Sr.

Douglas Earl Kirk, Sr. age 71, died Wednesday July 27, 2005 in a Birmingham hospital. Funeral Services will be held at the Chapel of Lawrence Brown-Service Funeral Home at 10:00 a.m. Saturday officiated by Dr Cecil Williamson and Rev Tommy Fancher.

Burial will follow in Pineview Memory Gardens. Mr. Kirk is survived by his wife, Jeanie J Kirk of Valley Grande, Children, Douglas E (Trease) Kirk, Jr. of Valley Grande and Kimberly K (Jeff) Cogle of Selma; grandchildren, Kari K (Jimmy) Benson, Jed Dylan Kirk, Brittany J Cogle, Kirk S Cogle, and J Clayton Cogle; brothers, Robert W (Irene) Kirk and William R (Barbara) Kirk; sisters, Elizabeth K Hare, Lois K (John) Britton, Lucille K. (Elga) Goodman, and Mable K (Woody) Beck, brother-in-law, Glen (Sally) Johnson, Jr. Family visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m. at the funeral home Friday. Active pallbearers will be Joseph H. Suddeth, Vernon C. Harris, Hans &8220;Sonny&8221; Pfeiffer, Jimmy W. Dickey, Walter Hare, and Charles Hare. Honorary pallbearers will be Samuel Watt Dudley, James Duggan, Ray Kirk, Dr. Julian Howell, Dr. Wiley Newton, Dr. Silivo Papapietro, Tony Beck and former Sears employees.

In lieu of flowers the family suggests donations to Crescent Hill Presbyterian Church, St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, The Salvation Army, The American Red Cross, or one’s favorite charity.

Annie Judson Jones

Annie Judson C. Jones, age 93, died Friday July 29, 2005 in a Marion nursing home. Graveside services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Monday August 1, 2005 at New Live Oak Cemetery with Dr. Michael Brooks and Rev. Sonny Edwards officiating and Lawrence Brown-Service Funeral Home directing. Mrs. Jones is survived by her daughters Annie Lou (Riley) Sheffield, Sue Hamilton, Betty (Sonny) Edwards, eight grandchildren Riley (Terri) Sheffield III, Charles Sheffield, Louise (Robby) Mautz, Mimi (Frank) Lynch, Keith (Deanna) Fahey, Kent (Ariann) Fahey, Neil (Barbara) Edwards, Susan (David) Wilkerson. 13 great grandchildren and 3 great great grandchildren. Mrs. Jones is preceded in death by her husband Hurstle Jones. In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made to Alabama Baptist Children’s Home P.O. Box 361767 Birmingham, Al 32536-1767

Heber Meeks Langston

Heber Meeks Langston, age 87, of Selma died Friday July 29, 2005 at home. Graveside funeral services will be held at 3:30 Sunday July 31, 2005 at Casey Church of Christ, Southside, AL officiated by Minister Terry Gunnells and President John Collins directed by Lawrence Brown-Service Funeral Home. Mr. Langston is survived by his wife, Nannie Langston of Selma, children, Hugh Langston of Waco, TX, Alice (Randy) Russell of Prattville, Myrtle Rowell of Selma, 9 grandchildren, 13 Great Grandchildren, sisters, Maggie Lee Smoke of Pleasant Hill, Ruth Parsons of Hickory, NC, Dora Turberville of Pell City, Gertrude Cutchen of Spokane, WA, and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by brothers and sisters, Willard Langston, Ruby Bracknell, Daisy Smoke, and Myrtle Langston.

Mr. Langston was a WW II veteran with 20 years service in the US Air Force, He also retired from the US Postal Service as a rural carrier.

He was born in Sardis and spent most of his military career at Craig AFB, Selma. The family will receive friends from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers the family suggests memorials to the Casey Church of Christ Cemetery Fund, P.O. Box 390, Tyler, AL 36785.

Herman Allen Smith

Herman Allen Smith, 72, of Marion, died Friday, July 29, 2005, at the Perry County Nursing Home. Graveside services will be held on Sunday, July 31, at 3 p.m. in Harris Cemetery. Kirk Funeral Home is directing. Visitation will be held at from 1 to 2 p.m.

Darlene Taylor Sullivan

Darlene Taylor Sullivan, of Selma passed away Friday July 29, 2005 at the age of 53.

A memorial service will be held at10:00 A.M. Monday, August 1, 2005 in the chapel of Selma Funeral Home.

She is survived by her husband Dayrel Sullivan Sr; two sons, Dayrel (Rona) Sullivan Jr. of Enterprise MS; Shane (Cindy) Sullivan of Meridian MS; and daughter Melissa (Gary) Mayton of Selma AL. Three brothers; Woodrow (Doug) Taylor, Clinton W. Taylor, Sr. and Calvin L. Taylor. Three sisters; Nancy Garrison, Diane Crabtree, and Donna McCubbins. Eight grandchildren; Brett Collins, Sam Collins, Hayley Fox, Justin Sullivan, Courtney Sullivan, Dusty Sullivan, Justin Bean and Mindy Sullivan.

Lee D. Alexander

Lee D. Alexander, passed away on Friday, July 29,2005, at his home in Homewood after a sudden illness.

Services will be held at 10:00 a.m., Monday, August 1, 2005, at Trinity United Methodist Church on Oxmoor Road, Birmingham.

Visitation will be at 6:00 PM at Trinity United Methodist Church on Sunday, July 31, 2005.

Survivors include his wife, Marsha Green Alexander; two daughters, Jennifer Alexander Hagler (Clayton) and Laura Alexander; and one granddaughter, Maddie Hagler.

Robert Wright

NEW YORK (AP) &045; Robert Wright, a composer and lyricist who collaborated with George Forrest on the scores for such Broadway musicals as &8220;Kismet,&8221; &8220;Song of Norway&8221; and &8220;Grand Hotel,&8221; died Wednesday. He was 90.

Wright died at his Miami home of natural causes, said his brother, Jack, of Gloversville, N.Y.

For much of their careers, Wright and Forrest specialized in adapting someone else’s music, usually a classical composer, and spinning it into something new.

They used their talent, for example, to take an obscure wedding dance by Edvard Grieg and turn it into &8220;Strange Music,&8221; a smash from &8220;Song of Norway&8221; (1944). They later transformed the exotic themes of Russian composer Alexander Borodin into songs such as &8220;Stranger in Paradise&8221; and &8220;Baubles, Bangles and Beads&8221; for &8220;Kismet&8221; (1953), which won a Tony Award for best musical.

The songwriting team did much the same thing in Hollywood, working on dozens of films including &8220;Maytime,&8221; &8220;Sweethearts&8221; and &8220;I Married an Angel.&8221; Among their Hollywood hit tunes was &8220;The Donkey Serenade,&8221; adapted from a piano piece by Rudolf Friml and sung by Allan Jones in the film &8220;The Firefly&8221; (1937).

The Wright-Forrest partnership lasted some 70 years, ending when Forrest died in 1999. It began in the late 1920s at Miami Senior High School where they wrote their first song.