Rhoda Bell (Pannell) Whisenant

Mrs. Rhoda Bell (Pannell) Whisenant, 89, born on Oct. 26, 1917, in Union County, Miss., went home to the Lord on Sept. 2, 2007, at Benndale Personal Care Home located in Benndale, Miss.

Rhoda moved from Union County to Pascagoula, Miss., with her husband, Whiz, in 1942. She was a practicing cosmetologist for 58 years. The majority of those years being at her business, Rhoda's Beauty Salon on Chico Street in Pascagoula. She was loved and well-respected not only by her family, friends and customers, but by the entire community as a whole. Above all, she was known for her great, unwavering faith in her Lord Jesus Christ.

She was preceded in death by her late husband, H.H. (Whiz) Whisenant, son, Wilburn H. Whisenant, sisters, Icie Thomas, Sylvia Hill, Ovie Mae Pannell, and Hattie Pannell, and her brothers, Amory Pannell, Andrew Pannell and Buford Pannell.

Survivors include one brother, George (Faye) Pannell of Ocean Springs, Miss., two children, James Thomas (Marjorie) Whisenant, also of Ocean Springs, and Rosemary (Joe Ray) McNeal of Vancleave, Miss., six grandchildren, Ronda (Robert) Powell of Ocean Springs, James P. (Cindy) Burden of George County, Miss., Donna (Tony) Avila of Dallas, Texas., Christina (Perry) Dossett of Ocean Springs, Derek (Susan) Whisenant of Vancleave, Miss., and Joe Ray (Susan Ann) McNeal, Jr. of Los Angeles, Calif., twelve great-grandchildren, three great-great-grandchildren, and numerous beloved nieces and nephews.

Visitation for friends and loved ones will be on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2007, from 1 to 2 p.m., with a 2 p.m. chapel service, all at the Ocean Springs Chapel of Bradford O'Keefe Funeral Home. Burial will follow in Crestlawn Memorial Park.