Wesley Weldon Ezzell, 94, Florence, Ala., died May 17, 2005, at Carrington House Assisted Living, Iuka, Miss.He was born Dec. 22, 1910, in Franklin County, Ala. He was a fifth-generation Franklin Countian.He was preceded in death by his parents, James Garrison Ezzell and Rebecca Louella Hester Ezzell. He was the last of 12 children born to his parents and was the last one to survive. One unnamed child died in infancy. Four brothers, Gilbert, Ernest, John and Walter, predeceased him, as did his six sisters, Pearl Bostick, Ethel Blacklidge, Christina Ferrell, Martha Ezzell, Bessie Ezzell and Rutha Kay.Had he lived until August, he would have been married to his wife, Ouida Grace Parrish Ezzell, for 70 years. They were married in Franklin County, Ala., on Aug. 4, 1935.He was serving as a civilian electrician with the U.S. Navy in Honolulu, Hawaii, during World War II, following Pearl Harbor, and continued following construction as a high-voltage cable splicer until his retirement in 1975. He was a 68-year member of Electrical Workers Union No. 558, in Sheffield.He was a 70-year member of Pleasant Site Masonic Lodge, in Franklin County, and a Shriner. He also was a member of Sons of the American Revolution and Sons of Confederate Veterans and First United Methodist Church.Survivors include his wife, Grace Parrish Ezzell, Iuka, Miss.; one daughter, Mary Ellen Ahlstrom, Florence, Ala.; one granddaughter, Melissa Ahlstrom Black and husband, Alfred Black Jr., U.S. Virgin Islands; a sister-in-law, Margaret Klade Ezzell, Roseville, Minn.; several nieces and nephews.Private services will be held. Burial will be in Greenview Memorial Garden, Florence, Ala.Deaton Funeral Home, Red Bay, Ala., is directing.Memorials should be made to the United Daughters of the Confederacy Scholarship Fund, 135 Pine Ridge Road, Tuscumbia, AL 35674, or Tishomingo County Archives and History Museum for Genealogical Materials, P.O. Box 273, Iuka, MS 38852..
Published in Florence Times Daily on May 18, 2005