Month: August 2023

Funeral Service for Bro. Daryl Vernon Mitchell will held on Wednesday, August 30, 2023, at 11 a.m. in The Chapel of Weatherly-Studdard Memorial Funeral Home, Inc., 111 Vanity Fair Avenue, Butler, Alabama. Interment, Oak Grove Baptist Church Cemetery, 2887 Oak Grove Road, Toxey, AL with Rev. Willie Kinslow, Officiating.

Daryl Vernon Mitchell was born in Cleveland, Ohio on October 25, 1946, to the late Vernon and Louise Mitchell. 

He departed this life August 22, 2023, at Ochsner Rush Hospital, Meridian, Mississippi at the age of 77. 

He graduated from Monmouth Regional High School in Tinton Falls, New Jersey in 1963.  As he farther his work skill; he worked over 20 years as a crane operator for New Jersey Steel in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, where he retired in 1999. He had a passion for racing cars ever since his youth. Over a forty-year span, he built several race cars.

Daryl was proceeded in death by his parents: Vernon and Louise Mitchell; one brother, Edred Keith Mitchell; one grandson,Jeffrey Keeton.

He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Mardell Mitchell;daughter, Valerie Ray (Rick) Cherry, Butler, Alabama; son,Tony (Gyneisha) Mitchell, Edison New Jersey; stepdaughter,Diahan (Jeff) Keeton, Butler, Alabama; stepson, Stacy Mitchell, Perth Amboy, New Jersey; five grandchildren, Niara and Toni Mitchell, New Jersey; Alisha (Korrence) Roshell, Birmingham, Alabama; India and Maura Cherry, Butler, Alabama; two great grandchildren, Korrin and Kambree Roshell; a sister, Brenda Riddick, Fayetteville, North Carolina; sister-in-law, Letha Mitchell, Auburn, Alabama; a host of nieces, nephews, other relatives, and friends.

Funeral Service for Vera Mae Dukes Blanks, 70, was held Saturday, August 26, 2023 at 12:00pm at Millwood Primitive Baptist Church in Pennington, AL with Rev. Marvin Johnson officiating.  Interment followed in Woodall Cemetery.

Sister Vera Blanks was born on April 23, 1953 to the late Willie C. Dukes, Sr. and Julia Mae Dukes.  She departed this earthly life on August 19, 2023 at her home.  She was preceded in death by a sister, Sharon White and a brother, Willie C. Dukes, Jr.

She confessed Christ at an early age and became a member of Millwood Primitive Baptist Church in Pennington, AL serving in many capacities including usher, choir member, Sunday School teacher, and many others until she became ill.

Sister Vera Blanks leaves to cherish her memories: four daughters, Tonya (Terrence) Williams, Shelia Dukes, Tatesha Blanks, all of Pennington, AL and Destiny Blanks of Tuscaloosa, AL; two granddaughters, Jakeyah Williams and Ava Dubose of Pennington, AL; one grandson, Tyrese Robinson of Tuscaloosa, AL; two sisters, Sadie (Eddie) Baker of Navarre, FL and Sandra (Keith) Davidson of San Antonio, TX; one brother, Duwarren Dukes of Chicago, IL; one brother-in-law; three sisters-in-law; four uncles; six aunts; and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, other relatives, and friends.