Bessie R. Welch

CARUTHERSVILLE - Bessie R. Welch, 75, died April 26, 2005, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau.

Born July 22, 1929, in Caruthersville to the late James and Myrtle Doster Sides, she was employed by the Brown Shoe Co. and as a cook for many years prior to her retirement. She was a Boy Scout leader and a member of the Temple Baptist Church, where she taught Sunday School.

Survivors include: two sons, Jimmie Crittenden of Millersville and Verlin Wayne Ford of Cape Girardeau; three daughters, Ann Tucker and Carol Marshall of Sikeston and Teresa McKeever of Jacksonville, Fla.; three sisters, Aline Goss of Caruthersville, Kathleen Sides of Sikeston and Lucille Winters of Dyersburg, Tenn.; and seven grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.

Funeral services were conducted Saturday at the H.S. Smith Funeral Home in Caruthersville with the Rev. Jim Pilcher officiating.

Burial was in the Little Prairie Cemetery at Caruthersville.

Pallbearers were: George Winters Jr., Ronnie Prater, Jerry Randall, Gary Weber, Doyle Richmond and Bryan Marshall.