Greeting readers, the Book of Psalms 7:17 says, “I will give thanks to the Lord because of his righteousness, and I will sing praises to the name of the Lord Most High.”  God’s love and mercy endures forever and ever; because he is wonderful and is worthy to be praised. I pray that each of you had a wonderful and a blessed Thanksgiving holiday.

Eva H. Harris and Lincoln County Schools’ Alumni would like to thank each of you who supported them during all of their fundraisers and other gestures leading up to the 10^th school reunion that was held July 10-12 in Brookhaven.Whatever your contributions were we want you to know that they were appreciated and may God continue to bless and keep you in his care. The next meeting will be in 2016, and it will be posted in my article at a later date.

Alexander High School Alumni, homecoming committee will host a Red & White Christmas Ball on Dec. 5 at the Lincoln County Civic Center on Beltline Road in Brookhaven. If you have not purchased your ticket, you may do so immediately. These tickets are circulating throughout the different neighborhoods at this time at $10 each. The chairperson, Phyllis Sterling Watkins and the alumni committee members invites each of you to come out and be a part of this great Christmas Ball. The next Alexander alumni homecoming will be July 2016. Please see an alumni member for more information. Letters will be sent out, but if you do not receive one please contact an alumni member because this will mean that they do not have your address or your phone number.

Throughout this holiday season there will be special tributes to those who have taught our lives in special ways during 2015 and are no longer with us.

Today, we pay special tribute in memory of Mary Alice “Mang, Mang” Hooks who was born Aug. 24, 1933 to Minnie Braxton McKinley and Sam (Babe) Hooks. She joined Zion Hill M. B. Church at an early age and attended faithfully. She is a graduate of Alexander High School. She worked at Copiah Lincoln Junior College from which she retired. She was known as a loving mother, grandmother and a friend. Her memory will forever be cherished and remembered by her children: Constance (Fred) Clark, Tanga Hamilton, Archie (Mary) Hooks, Gregory (Anissa) Hooks, all of Wesson, Stephan (Wanda) Hooks of Monticello and Steve (Marie) Hooks of Colorado Springs, Colorado. Also by her 19 grandchildren, her three great-grandchildren and a host of nieces, nephews, other relatives and her many friend who all loved her in very special ways. “She is gone but never forgotten”

We pay special tribute in loving memory of Ximera Desiree Hawkins Wiggins a beautiful young lady who was born Nov. 19, 1990 to Dora Walker Johnson and Johnathan R. Hawkins as a firstborn of her siblings. She accepted Christ at an early age and united with Mount Zion 550 Church and later joined Saint James M. B. Church. It was in these churches that she developed and nurtured her love and dedication to the Lord. She graduated from Brookhaven High School with honors in 2009. She continued her education with a presidential scholarship to Jackson State University, where she joined the Gamma Rho Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. She completed her degree in biology with honors in 2013. On March 8, 2013, Ximena married “the love of her life and her soul mate” Benjamin Wiggins Jr. They shared the same birthdates, and they soon became to share a greater love in the birth of their son, Wyatt Omarion. Ximena leaves to remember and cherish her memory her husband, Benjamin; her son, Wyatt, father Johnathan R. (Patricia) Hawkins; mother, Dora Johnson; grandparents, Johnny Hawkins and Stella (Monroe) Smith, father- and mother-in law, Benjamin and Jacqueline Perry Wiggins; nine siblings, uncles, aunts, a godson and a host of relatives and friends who loved her dearly. God is good, and his love endures forever. May his peace be with each of you.

We pay a special tribute in loving memory of Mary Christine Collins Sanders better known to her loved ones and friends as Christine. Mary Christine Collins Sanders was the youngest of six children and was born on June 24, 1926 in Bogalusa, Louisiana to James and Hattie Norwood Collins. When she was 3 years old, her parents moved back to Brookhaven, and she then became a member of Bethel AME Church, where she served faithfully until she departed this life. She truly loved her church and was active in numerous departments, including her enjoyment as an active member of the choir, serving on the stewardess board, and the Women’s Missionary Society among others. Also, Christine enjoyed attending the A.M.E. annual conferences. Christine graduated from Alexander High School in 1945. She was employed with the Brookhaven School District for several years as a cafeteria worker and also as a crossing guard. She later received a nursing degree from Copiah-Lincoln Community College and was employed as a nurse with Silver Cross and Brook Manor nursing homes as well as King’s Daughters Hospital until her retirement. Her passions included talking to and visiting people, driving around town and just traveling in general. She could be seen at almost every church event and some community and city events. One of her favorite places to go was the Jimmy Furlow Senior Citizen Center. Christine was also a member of the local chapter of A.A.R.P. Christine leaves to cherish her loving and fond memories her daughter, Sherry Sanders Washington; her grandson, Durrell Washington (Whitney) of Brookhaven; her granddaughters, Tracee Washington of Owings Mills, Maryland, and Linda Wingfield of Clinton; six great-grandchildren Dymonde, Durrell Jr., Asia, Jadon, Kolleana and Cedric; three sisters-in-law Beatrice Smith Dixon, Ruby Brown and Tauheedah Muhammad; three nieces, Renette Oates, Julie G. Peters and Deborah Norah; one nephew, Enos Williams Peters Jr. and a host of other family members and many, many friends who loved her and enjoyed being with her because she was a joy to be around. She is truly missed and her memories will linger forever and ever in our lives.

We pray for all families and friends who are in bereavement at this time. May God Almighty’s peace, his joy, his understanding, and his comfort be with each of you as you are going through and continues to go through this trying time in your life.

If you have any Loyd Star Area News to Report, please call Carolyn E. Beard Humphries at 601-833-5753.