June 20 obituaries

G.W. Philips, 84
G.W. Phillips, passed away on June 13, 2026, at the age of 84 in his res¬ident in Muscle Shoals surrounded by family. He was born in Barton, Ala¬bama to George and Eliza Brown Phillips on June 11, 1942. His visitation will be Tuesday, June 16, 2026, from 11:00 – 1:00 p.m. at Morrison Funeral Home, Cherokee with the funeral service immediately fol¬lowing in the funeral home chapel with Eric Crawford officiating. Burial will be held at Barton Ceme-tery following the service.
G.W. is preceded in death by his wife, Pat¬sy Faye Wood Phillips; parents, George Phillips and Eliza Brown Phillips; daughter, Kristy Phillips; and sister, Betty Bass.
He is survived by his daughters, Barbara (Kerry), Renee, Cathy, and Sheron; son, Gary: grandchildren, Michael, Eric, Rusty, Buddy (Bar¬bie), Jacob (Jessica), Jo¬seph, Douglas (Amber), Shannon, Laura, Ash¬ley, and Nikki; twelve great-grandchildren, two great-great-grandchil¬dren; sisters Donnie (JB) and Jane; brothers, Tom (Angie), Billy (Faye), Robert, and Burley; and many nieces and nephews.
Pallbearers will be Mi¬chael Moore, Tristan Po¬toski, Eric Campbell, Rusty Carver, Tommy Phillips, and Tyler Smith.
As the family, we would like to specially thank Gentiva Hospice and his daughters Barbara, Renee, and Cathy for assisting and caring for him in the final nine months of his life.

Mildred Ruth Vandiver, 69
Mildred Ruth Vandiver, 69, of Russellville, passed away on Friday, June 12, 2026. There will be a graveside service on Tues¬day, June 16, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. at Hyde Cemetery in Tuscumbia with Jimmy Pennington officiating.
Mildred was preceded in death by her parents, Dell and Thelma Vandiver; daughter, Candy Vandiv¬er; brother-in-law, Daniel Hand; and other family members, Richard Hughes and Jane Pennington.
She is survived by her daughter, Amy Gilbert (Teddy); brother, James Pennington (Judy); sisters, Melba Eddie (Roger) and Linda Scott; grandchil¬dren, Nathan Sanders and Miles Gilbert; and nieces and nephews, Heidi Scott, Tonya Hicks (Steve), Tam¬my Horton (Jeff), Angie O’Neal (Shawn), Justin Pennington, and Jim¬my Pennington (Jenny).
Friends and family will serve as pallbearers.

Joyce Carr
Barton, 95
Joyce Carr Barton, 95, of Muscle Shoals, AL passed away on Thursday, June 11, 2026. A private service will be held for the family, then a celebration of life will be held at a later date. Colbert Memorial Chap¬el is assisting the family.
Teresa Dawn Cantrell, 55
Teresa Dawn Cantrell, 55, of Sheffield, passed away on June 11, 2026. There will be no ser-vices at this time.
Teresa was a native of Sheffield. She was pre¬ceded in death by par¬ents, James Ray and Nancy Nelson; her hus¬band, Jimmy Cantrell; and her grandcat Severus.
Teresa is survived by her daughter, Erika Cantrell and husband, Caleb Bey¬ersdorf; son, Chad and wife, Destiny Nelson; as well as every friend of Erika and Chad who’ve called her mom over the years; sisters, Tonya Nel¬son, Sabrina Gibson, and Teresa Woods; brother, Ashley Nelson; grandchil¬dren, Xander and Aman¬da Abel, and Gabriella Fullerton; her Grandpets, Hanzo, Snips, and Cop¬per, and her special boys Bryley Donta and Isaiah Tate whom she loved like her own as well; and spe¬cial family members Billy Fincher, Katrina Nelson
The family would like to thank everyone who knew her and adored her ability to invoke an entire room into deep belly laughs.

Ralph Taylor Thompson, 91
Ralph Taylor Thompson passed away on June 11, 2026. He was born in Col¬linwood TN on Septem¬ber 6, 1934, to James and Annie Butler Thompson.
He was a 1952 gradu¬ate of Collinwood High School. After graduation, he joined the US Air Force and served honorably for 4 years. He married his high school sweetheart, Joy Barnett in 1956 and they would have been mar¬ried 70 years on July 25.
They were blessed with two wonderful children, Charlotte Hill (Larry) and Anthony Thompson. The true joys of his life were his grandchildren, Laura Hill Ledgewood (Carter), Whitney Hill Coates (Ty), and Ale¬na Carter and his great grandchildren, Cal Taylor Ledgewood, Lucy Collins Ledgewood and Cecily (CeCe) Chase Coates. He is also survived by his brother, Gene Thompson (Gladys) of Temperence, MI; brother-in-law, Joel Brewer of Eagle, ID, and many nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents, his siblings, Charles (Buster), Joel, Robert (Rod) and Florene.
Upon discharge from the Air Force, Ralph began his higher education journey at Florence State Teachers’ College. He received his B.S. degree in science in 1960. He later on received a Masters and EdS degree from University of North Alabama. He would begin his long tenure of service to the Lauderdale Coun¬ty Board of Education at Central High School as the Jr. High football coach and then to Oakland Jr. High School as a science teacher and basketball coach. His basketball knowledge was vast, and his basketball teams were outstanding. As Anthony once put it, “Okie boys, can’t be beat”.
After a brief stint as the county attendance officer, he returned to Oakland as the principal. With the threat that Oakland was going to be closed, the superintendent chose to send Ralph to Wilson. It was a small struggling community school with about 700 students in K-12 when he arrived on cam¬pus in the fall of 1975.
What took place over the next 18 years was nothing short of a miracle. At the time of his retirement, Wilson had over 1400 stu¬dents and was the largest school in the county. His vision for the school sur¬passed anything that any¬one could have imagined.
He rolled up his sleeves and built a campus that everyone who attended or taught there could be proud of. He built something the community could also be proud of. It wasn’t unusu¬al to see him in his dress shirt and tie picking up paper early in the morning before school. He expect¬ed his students and facul¬ty to have pride in Wilson High School. He loved the legacy he built there. He was so humbled and honored when the foot¬ball stadium was named after him. No matter what setting we were in, there was always a former Wil¬son student there to help in any way he needed.
After his retirement from Wilson, he contin¬ued to serve the education community of Lauderdale County as a school board member. As a school board member, he earned the Al¬abama School Board As¬sociation Master school board member, Master Honor Roll and All State Board member. He served in that capacity for 18 years. He served his com¬munity through the Central Heights Civitan Club. He served as president sev¬eral times and definitely has the Lifetime award for most onions sold for Civi¬tan scholarships. He didn’t ask you if you wanted to buy a bag, he asked how many bags did you want. Not many, if any, didn’t purchase at least 1 bag.
It is only fitting that his final walk in life will be at Wilson High School in the Bullard-Stejskal gymnasium The service will be Monday, June 15, 2026, with visitation from 1-3 and the service begin¬ning at 3. Services will be conducted by Brother Alex Oberneder and John Mansell. Burial will fol¬low at McGlamery Cem¬etery in Collinwood, TN.
Pallbearers will be Lar¬ry Hill, Carter Ledge¬wood, Ty Coates, Gary Hudson, Paul Parrish, and Blake Young. Honorary pallbearers are Cal Tay¬lor Ledgewood, Chuck Thompson, Brett Young, the players he coached at Central and Oakland, and all the students, staff, and faculties that he served at Oakland Jr. High School and Wilson High School.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that do¬nations and memorials be made to the Thomp-son Scholarship Account that has been established in Joy and Ralph’s honor and memory. Donations may be made at any First Southern Bank location.
The family wishes to thank Heather McClure at Gentiva Hospice for all her help in the last 4 weeks. The staff at Mitch¬ell-Hollingworth moved mountains this week to help when we needed. We appreciated that so much. We appreciate our caregiv¬ers, Kim, Callie, Martha, and Suzanne who have worked tirelessly to care for daddy and mother. We also want to thank every¬one who sent cards, visited or called. Daddy enjoyed reminiscing with you. Please keep our family in your prayers as we navigate life without our anchor.
Patsy Johnston Shoemaker, 87
Patsy “Pat” Johnston Shoemaker, 87, of Tus¬cumbia, passed away at her home on Wednesday, June 10, 2026. Visitation will be Saturday, June 13, 2026, from 10:00-1:00 at Tuscumbia First Methodist Church with the funeral service fol¬lowing at 1:00 p.m. Alan Beasley will officiate the service. The burial will follow in Oakwood Cemetery in Tuscumbia.
Pat was a native and lifelong resident of Tus¬cumbia. She was member of Tuscumbia First Meth¬odist Church and the Ethel Gary Sunday School Class. She was also a member of the Muscle Shoals Dis¬tinct Service League, and the Helen Keller Library Foundation. Pat served as a board member of the Ten¬nessee Valley Art Center and Helen Keller Hospital.
Pat was preceded in death by her husband, Bil¬ly S. Shoemaker; daughter, Shannon Shoemaker Car¬bonie; parents, Tommy and Olive Johnston; and broth¬er and sister-in-law, Bob¬by Sue and Mac McGill.
Pat is survived by her daughter, Suzanne Shoe¬maker; granddaughter, Rebekah Alexander Yar¬ber and husband, Joshua Yarber; and great grand¬children, Aaiden Yar¬ber and Charlotte Yarber who called her “Sweets”.
Pallbearers will be Brian Prince, Karson Prince, Dr. Lew Sam¬ple, Dr. Jimmy Gardin¬er, John Mothershed, and David Armstrong.
Memorials may be made to Amedysis Hospice, Tus¬cumbia First Methodist Church, or St. Jude’s Chil¬dren’s Research Hospital.
The family expresses special thanks to Carmen, McKayla, and Dorothy and Amedysis Hospice; her Jeopardy Buddy Jac¬que; Helen Keller Hospi¬tal, Dr. Horton, Dr. Mc¬Clendon, Dr. Motes, Dr. Brody, Dr. Tyler Kirby, Cottage of the Shoals, Alan Beasley, her Coffee Group and Sewing Club.

Brian Keith Stancil, 66
Brian Keith Stancil, 66, was welcomed home by his Heavenly Father on June 11th 2026, after a bat¬tle with renal disease. Bri¬an lived a life marked by faith, kindness, and devo¬tion to family. He trusted in Jesus Christ and found strength, comfort, and pur¬pose through his relation¬ship with the Lord. Brian was known for a compas¬sionate heart, a generous spirit, and an unwavering willingness to help others. Brian had a special gift for showing love through food, always making sure those around him were well fed. Brian was a be¬loved husband, father, grandfather, brother, and friend. He treasured time spent with family and cre¬ated countless memories that will be cherished for generations. Through Mid-South Merchandise and Hunting Village Apart¬ments, Brian touched many lives and reflected God’s love to those around him.
A graveside service will be held on Saturday, June 13, 2026 at 11:00 am in Col¬bert Memorial Gardens.
Brian is survived by loving and devoted wife, Regina; his daughters Brooke (Bret) and Brid-get (Justin); his grand¬children Logan and Eliza¬beth; his brothers John and Jamie. He was preceded in death by his parents, Ervin and Nell Stancil.
While our hearts grieve this earthly loss, we rejoice in the promise of eternal life through Jesus Christ. As Scripture reminds us, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who be-lieves in me will live, even though they die.” (John 11:25) We take comfort in knowing that Brian has been welcomed into the arms of the Savior and now rests in perfect peace. His legacy of faith, love, and generosity will continue to inspire all who knew him.
We would like to thank the team at Davita in Russellville, and all the friends and family who surrounded him with love during his final days.
“Well done, good and faithful servant.” — Matthew 25:23

Emma Jean
Pilgrim
Sparks, 90
Emma Jean Pilgrim Sparks age 90, of Tuscum¬bia Al, passed away on Saturday June 13, 2026. Visitation will be Tues¬day, June 16, 2026, at 11-1 pm at Colbert Memorial Chapel with a service to follow at 1 pm. Officiat¬ing will be Matt Fowler. Burial will be in Col¬bert Memorial Gardens.
Mrs. Sparks was pre¬ceded in death by her husband; Melvin Sparks, sister, Rose Nell South, niece Kelly Fincher, nephew, Greg Pilgrim, and her parents, Charles and Methyl Pilgrim.
Mrs. Sparks is sur¬vived by her son, Anthony Sparks (Sha), daughter, Angela Underwood, broth¬er Charlie Pilgrim (Patsy) and Rose Ann Smallwood friend and caregiver whom she loved like a daughter. Grandchildren; Jason Un¬derwood (Sabrina), Jami Underwood Terry (Jef¬fery), Justin Sparks (Me¬lissa), and Jordan Sparks (Mary Jordan), Great grandchildren, Will and Anna Underwood, Braelyn and Averi Terry, Mia, Lily, Mason, Finn, Elvie Sparks. Pallbearers will be, Ja¬son and Will Underwood, Jeffery Terry and Braelyn Terry, Jordan and Justin Sparks and Bill Wright.
Special thanks to nurs¬es and CNA’S at Mitch¬ell – Hollingsworth nursing home station 3 Compassus Hospice for the excellent care and at¬tention they gave to her.