Services for Philip Hardy West Jr., of Starkville, will be heldat 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 16, at Porter Funeral Home inLouisville. He will be interred beside his son, Morgan Toles atLouisville Memorial Cemetery.

Visitation is Monday from 5 until 8 p.m. at the funeralhome.

Mr. West died Oct. 13, 2007, at his residence. He was born inBrookhaven on Aug. 14, 1935, to Philip Hardy and Winnie Lou HallWest. He was the grandson of Jack Hardy West and Mary J. Case WestSmith, and John W. Hall and Ettie Nettles Hall.

He grew up in Central Baptist Church from the “tent” to thefirst church building on Georgia Avenue. After his graduation fromBrookhaven High School in 1954, he immediately caught the City ofNew Orleans train to Jackson to enlist in the United States Navy.He attended Hinds Junior College and the Mississippi SouthernCollege, as well as many Navy Officer Training courses. As a navalofficer, he trained from the East Coast to the West Coast andFlorida. He was an instructor at Hinds Junior College during a10-year sabbatical from the Navy. At age 41, he re-enlisted tocomplete his 25-year career in the Navy.

During his tenure in the Navy, he was attached to the USSElectron, the USS Milledgeville, the USS Arneb, the USS Hermitage,the USS Piedmont, the USS Sierra, the USS Mars and the USSSaratoga.

His last two assignments were the Military Entrance ProcessingStation (MEPS) in Jackson, as testing officer. The last ship onwhich he was stationed, the USS Wisconsin, was in Pascagoula, the”Big Gun” ship was being recommissioned for duty in the firstPersian Gulf War with Iraq. After that, the ship was retired again.He was cited for his humanitarian work in evacuating refugees fromfloating internment camps in the Pacific. He was involved inclosing out “Little America,” a U.S. military post in Antarctica,his being the last ship to pull out after days of being icedin.

Mr. West was an avid hunter, carpenter and skilled woodworker.He used his skills in the Lord’s service on mission work in theUnited States. He was commissioned by the State of Mississippi tomake the display case for the Mississippi Medal of Honor winners,which is on display at the MEPS in Jackson.

He was a member of the First Baptist Church in Louisville.

Preceding him in death were his grandparents; his parents; andhis son.

Survivors are his wife, Mary Alice; his sons, Hardy West, ofAthens, Ga., Solon West, of Davie, Fla., and Anthony Toles, ofJackson; his daughter, Lee Ann Toles-Merkl, of Starkville; hisbrothers and sisters, John David West, of Hickory, Gordon West andElizabeth West Wesse, both of Brookhaven, and Mary Etta Boutin, ofOklahoma City, Okla.; his five grandsons and one granddaughter; andmany loving nieces and nephews.

To leave online condolences for the West family, visitwww.porterfuneralhome.net.