Services for Melvin Dean Foster, of Brookhaven, are 2 p.m.Friday, Feb. 26, at Riverwood Family Funeral Service, with burialin Fair River Baptist Church Cemetery in Lincoln County.

Visitation is Thursday from 5 until 9 p.m. at the funeralhome.

Mr. Foster, 54, died Feb. 24, 2010, at the University of Alabama atBirmingham Medical Center. He was born on Nov. 3, 1955.

He was employed with the U.S. Forest Service, Bude Work Center. Hewas a 1973 graduate of Brookhaven High School and Copiah-LincolnJunior College, as well as Mississippi State University. He was amember of First Baptist Church.

Preceding him in death were his father, Ed Foster; his nephew, ErinMcNeel; and his father-in-law, Thomas I. Smith, of BogueChitto.

Survivors are his wife, Linda Smith Foster, of Brookhaven; hismother, Iva Nell Nations Foster; his mother-in-law, Irene Smith, ofBogue Chitto; his nephew, Jared McNeel, of Pasadena, Texas; hisnieces, Peyton Rials and Ashton Rials, of Brookhaven; hissisters-in-law, Barbara McNeel and husband Dr. Ronald McNeel, ofPasadena, and Annette Rials and husband Dwayne Rials, ofBrookhaven; and Star and Reese, his loyal companions.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Brookhaven AnimalRescue League, P.O. Box 3477, Brookhaven, MS 39603.

To express your thoughts to the family, you may visitriverwoodfamily.com and click on his name to leave a comment.