Visitation will be held Friday Evening, April 7, 2023 from 5:00-8:00pm and resume Saturday, April 8, 2023 from 10:00 until 11:00am and funeral services at 11am at the Riverwood Family Funeral Service. Interment will be in Riverwood Memorial Park. 

Reginald Elridge Wise, 71, of Brookhaven, MS went to be with the Lord on Tuesday, April 5, 2023.  He was born in Bogalusa, LA on January 14, 1952.  Regi was a loving husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, and mentor.

Regi was a man of many interests and talents.  From an early age he took a keen interest in the outdoors and was a student of the science and behavior of God’s creation for the rest of his life.  This love of understanding how things work carried over into his academic and professional pursuits.  In 1974 he graduated from Mississippi State with a degree in engineering. This led to a career in the aerospace industry including becoming a lead engineer at the Stennis Space Center.  He later worked alongside his family as a co-owner of Dickerson & Bowen building roads and highways.  He enjoyed sharing his love and knowledge of nature and science with his family and spending countless days in the swamps and pine forest of Mississippi. Once his children were grown, he extended his love for teaching to the community.  In his 60s he continued his formal education obtaining a M.A. at Belhaven and became a science & physics teacher at McComb High School and Bogue Chitto Attendance Center.  For the last eleven years he   coached the Bogue Chitto Robotics Team. He loved photography, electronics, and spending time with his grandchildren.      

Preceding him in death were his parents, Shirley Elridge Wise and Phyllis Mitchell Wise; and brother Kyle Wynne Wise.

Those left to cherish his memory are his wife, Beverly Wise; daughter, Melissa Wise Philley (Benjamin); sons, Matthew Elridge Wise and Mitchel Wayne Wise; sister, Nancy Wise Carnaggio (Frank); grandchildren, Libby Lane Philley; Layla James Philley; Isaac Wayne Wise; Paul Elridge Wise; and Susan Katherine Wise.

He will be greatly missed by all who loved him.

Rev. Greg Warnock will officiate the service.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Bogue Chitto Robotics Team 478 Fairlawn Trail Brookhaven MS or a church or charity of your choice.

Brantley Barnard Pace, M.D.  

 Brantley Barnard Pace, M.D., beloved husband, devoted father and esteemed physician in Mississippi, died peacefully at home surrounded by his family. Known simply as Doc, his life was deeply etched by his faith, his commitment to hard work in a field that brought him life-long satisfaction and joy, and his love of family.

The community is invited to a memorial service Saturday, April 29 at 1 o'clock at  Monticello Baptist Church. Visitation will be Friday, April 28 from 5-7 at Riverwood Family Funeral Home in Brookhaven or Saturday in Monticello at a reception in the Family Life Center following the service.

 A native of Hattiesburg, Dr. Pace was born May 11, 1933, to Allye Lou Brantley and Thomas Barnard Pace. From a young age, he worked for years in Mr. Stockstill’s grocery store, at the filling station, painted ads on bus benches, and credits his weekly employment with shaping his valued work ethic. At 17 he invited Audria Ann Russell to the Spring Revival at First Baptist Church of Hattiesburg in 1950. They married at age 19, and she has been his devoted wife for 70 years.

 Dr. Pace was a 1950 graduate of Hattiesburg High School and received a Bachelor of Science degree from the former Mississippi Southern College. A member of the second graduating class of the University of Mississippi School of Medicine, Dr. Pace was elected class president his first and second years and earned the Doctor of Medicine degree in 1958. He was profoundly grateful for the experience of working for Dr. Arthur C. Guyton for four years during medical school, doing research and drawing illustrations for the first and second editions of the ​Textbook of Medical Physiology and other works by Dr. Guyton.

 He completed his internship at John Sealy Hospital, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, in 1959, where he valued the opportunity of training under talented surgeon and Mississippi native, Dr. Truman Blocker.

 Dr. Pace and Ann moved to Monticello where he has been engaged in the practice of medicine for 64 years. A self-described country doctor, he was widely regarded for a combination of native intelligence and personal warmth. Diligent in his pursuit of improving the quality of medical care in his community, Dr. Pace offered unparalleled attention to detail in the lives of his patients. His medical career spanned his weekly house calls in the 1960’s to telemedicine in the 21^st century, and he never lost his personal touch with patients. He practiced listening carefully and writing personal letters in an age of computer-generated correspondence, frequently offering his own drawings to clarify understanding, and remembering his patients’ birthdays with hand-written notes. He loved serving the people of Lawrence county who frequently showed their appreciation by sharing fresh eggs, tomatoes, peas, berries, figs and other produce of their gardens for which he was grateful.

 Dr. Pace was honored with the Phillip Rogers Award in Hattiesburg in 2009 for excellence in the delivery of medical care. He was a Diplomate of the American Board of Family Medicine since 1970, having been board certified upon examination last at age 81, and was an active member of the American Association of Family Practice.

 Doc was a life-long learner and enjoyed teaching others about the way things work. An avid fan of auto racing, he earned his professional racing license at age 60 and earned his pilot’s license at age 70. He was proud to be a member of the Flying Octogenarians.

 A gifted musician, he sang a resounding bass line in barbershop quartets and in church choirs, but most memorably, Doc filled their home with music, playing hymns, ragtime piano, guitar and banjo.

 He will be remembered as a compassionate physician, beloved mentor and colleague, and true patriot. The events of World War II shaped Doc’s understanding of patriotism as a boy and influenced his lifelong commitment to honoring veterans and sharing their stories. No mention of his life would be complete without paying loving tribute to those who answered the call to serve this country. To them he gave the highest admiration and respect.

 Influenced by fond memories of his mother’s close family of their 14 siblings as well as working closely with Dr. Guyton, Dr. Pace and his wife wanted a large family and gave themselves fully to the task of rearing their seven children. He is survived by his devoted wife, Ann, and four of their children:  Marita Pace Walton (Ben), Jackson; Dr. Thomas B. Pace (Nancy), Greenville, S.C.; Kathryn Pace Phillips (Will), Brookhaven; and Jan Pace Coker (Sam), Ridgeland. 22 grandchildren remember him as their loving Doc: Dr. Bennett Walton (Samantha), Houston; Rhymes Walton Stabler (Prentice), Nashville; Marita Walton Ellis (Reed), Nashville; Anna Pace, Greenville, S.C; Brantley Pace, Sergeant USMC, (Kelley), Denver; Dr. Richard Pace (Katharine), Greenville, S.C.; Dr. Russell Pace (Holly Anne), Hendersonville, N.C.; Josh Parschauer, New York City; Kara Parschauer, Huron, OH; Mary Phillips White  (Jeffrey), Brookhaven; Anna Kathryn Phillips, Chicago; Margaret Phillips, Nashville; Sarah Phillips Holliday (Ivan), Poplarville; Will Phillips, Brookhaven; Clay Coker, New York City; Lucy Coker Rudow (Grant), Dallas; Joe Coker, Starkville; Mary Coker, Fort Worth; and Virginia, Thomas, Allen and Sonnie Pace, Madison.

 Doc also leaves 16 great-grandchildren and a host of cherished family members and dear friends who feel like family. He is survived by his loving sister, Mary Lou Pace Dabbs (Woody), Oxford; and sister in law, Brenda Pace, widow of his brother, Maxwell Pace who died in 2016

 Preceding Dr. Pace in death are his beloved children Will Pace who died in 2022, Jim Pace and Lucy Pace Parschauer (Ken) who died in 2020; and the wife of his son, Jim, Solange Dibos Pace, as well as his parents.

 The Pace family wishes to express their deepest love and gratitude to each of the exceptional healthcare workers who worked alongside Doc for 63 years at Lawrence County Hospital. They likewise thank those co-workers at Lawrence County Nursing Center and St. Luke’s Home Health and Hospice, and extend warmest appreciation to the staff at Hospice Ministries who served during his final days.

 In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the charity of your choice.