Three Member of Family Are Killed in Highway 49 Crash

Three person were killed Tuesday afternoon around four o'clock in a four- vehicle accident on Highway 49 on the hill at Legion Lake.

The victims were identified as Mr. and Mrs. Robert T. Bryant, ages 79 and 66 respectively, and their 48-year-old son, Ernest Velpo Bryant, all of the Rocky Hill Community on Route 3, Magee.

Highway Patrolman Jack Wilton, who investigated the accident, said that the elderly couple were apparently killed instantly and that the son, Velpo Bryant, died about an hour later at Simpson General Hospital, where he was rushed after the accident.

Patrolman Wilton said that a feed transport truck apparently crashed head-on into the 1964 model car driven by the younger Bryant. The death car then crashed into another truck and a station wagon, the patrolman added. The Bryants are reported to have purchased the new car only one day prior to the accident.

There were no injuries in the other three vehicles. The driver of the transport truck was identified as Charles Smoot of Charleston, Mo.

The Bryants were traveling south when the accident occurred. They were returning home from Mendenhall where Mr. Bryant and his son had picked up Mrs. Bryant following her release from the Simpson General Hospital.

Funeral Services

Triple funeral services are to be held Thursday morning at 10 o'clock from Mims Mitchell Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. R.R. Newman, Rev. Delton Craft, Rev. G.T. Henderson and Rev. Herman McAlpin officiating. Interment will be in Pine Grove cemetery with Mims Mitchell Funeral Home in charge.

Survivors of Mr. and Mrs. Robert T. Bryant are one daughter, Mrs. Carolyn White of Magee; two sons, Leon Bryant and Clinton Bryant, both of Magee; thirteen grandchildren; and five great grandchildren.

Mr. Bryant is survived by four brothers: Willis Bryant and Charlie Bryant, both of Magee; Miley Bryant of Crystal Springs and Levi Bryant of Canton; and one sister, Miss Annie Jane Bryant of Magee.

Mrs. Bryant is survived by two brothers: Jessie Amason of Mize and Harvey Amason of Magee; and two sisters, Mrs. Miley Bryant of Crystal Springs, and Mrs. Willis Bryant of Magee.

Survivors of Ernest Velpo Bryant include his wife, Mrs. Gertrude Kennedy Bryant of Magee, Route 3; one son, Ernest Ward Bryant of Magee; three daughters, Mrs. Dora Helen Patterson of Jackson, Mrs. Jeffery Watford of Hattiesburg; and Miss Carolyn Bryant of Magee; two grandchildren; two brothers, Clinton Bryant and Leon Bryant, both of Magee; and one sister, Mrs. Carolyn White of Magee.

CLIPPED FROM
Simpson County News
Mendenhall, Mississippi
27 Feb 1964, Thu  •  Page 1

My grandfather - a Christian husband, father and grandfather, who loved his Lord and his family.

My mother told many stories of her father providing for his family. He would be the one who made the long trip to buy food and clothing for his family. She told of him often choosing fabrics for dresses for her and her mother. He would bring the fabric home, and her mother would cut and sew the garments.

He was a quiet man, who was a model of strength and Christian courage for his family.

Funeral services were held at Mims Mitchell Funeral Home in Magee, MS. There was a tremendous outpouring of love and support from family, friends and the entire community.

Robert and Kattie had 13 grandchildren. omcnair