The funeral service for Lynn Edward Boyte will be 10 a.m., Saturday, August 26, at Easthaven Baptist Church with burial in Riverwood Memorial Park. Visitation is from 5-8 p.m. Friday, August 25, at Easthaven.

At 83, Lynn Edward Boyte left this life to begin a new life in heaven: so many friends and family members are waiting to greet him. But “Miss Beckie” will join him another day.

Lynn was born on August 25, 1939, to Mr. Essie and Mrs. Melva (Martin) Boyte. His only sister, Katherine Boyte Rawls has also preceded him in death.

  He graduated from Enterprise Attendance Center in 1958 and then attended Clark Community College in Newton, MS on a basketball scholarship. After graduation from Clark he signed a professional baseball contract with the Cleveland Indians. In 1964, he left professional baseball behind to come home to his family.

Lynn proudly served with the MHP for 24 years as a patrolman, an assistant inspector, and assistant director of the Implied Consent Bureau, a branch of the department of Public Safety. During this time he also was appointed Senior Tactical Officer for multiple training classes for new recruits with the MHP.

For 10 years, Lynn was a member of the MHP pistol team and was a member of the four-man team winning nationals in 1977. He formed life-long relationships with members of many Law Enforcement agencies and enjoyed great success with his team as well as earning many individual trophies and awards. He continues to hold three national records that have yet to be broken. He is a graduate of the 1983 FBI academy. Following retirement from MHP he was elected sheriff of Lincoln County in 1988 and served the citizens of Lincoln County for four terms. During his time as sheriff, he served as president of the MS Sheriff’s Association from 1993-1994 and served as Chaplin from 1999-2002. He took great pride in his department implementing “DARE” education to several hundred 6^th graders, then introduced drug interdiction with canine narcotics detectors. He also implemented the Neighborhood Watch program in the county organizing 69 groups uniting the county. He had a great love of his county and its people.

 Lynn is preceded in death by his parents; his sister; and his in-laws, Mr. & Mrs. Webb Russell.

 He leaves his wife of 63 years, Beckie Russell Boyte; daughter, Lisa; son, Greg Boyte (LeAnn); granddaughter, Lyndsey; great grandson, Brantley; and granddaughter, Emma Grace Price; numerous nephews and nieces as well as his brother-in-law, Pete Rawls and sisters in law, Webbie Savore and Doris Bradley.

(Written & provided by Boyte family)

The funeral service for Pat Porter will be 11 a.m., Thursday, August 24, at Riverwood Family, with interment in New Prospect Baptist Church Cemetery. Visitation is from 9 a.m. until the time of the service.

At 97 years young, Pat Porter of Brookhaven, MS, went to walk the streets of Heaven, hand-in-hand with his beloved, Eloyce, on August 20, 2023. Pat was born in Franklin County, MS, on May 4, 1926, the middle child of nine siblings, to Barney Nicholas and Katie Lofton Porter. He was raised on a farm during the Great Depression in West Lincoln attending school at West Lincoln School and graduating high school in 1944. He joined the Navy during World War II and served until the War ended. After returning from service, he married his sweetheart, Mary Eloyce Watts, on June 7, 1947. Pat and Eloyce remained devoted to one another in over 73 years of marriage until her death on November 4, 2020. Pat started work after the War at Turnbough’s Body Shop, later moving to the body shop at Clark Nelms Ford in Brookhaven. He founded Pat Porter’s Body Shop in 1960 and in 1963, his brother, Paul, joined him to form Porters’ Body Shop on Highway 51. Pat & Paul built a successful business and in 1977 built a new shop and moved the business to Hartman Street where the Shop still thrives and is known for the quality of the work that is delivered. He taught his sons and grandchildren the importance of hard work. The word “can’t” was not in his vocabulary. Pat was an active member of Central Baptist Church where he served as deacon and taught Sunday School for many years. Although he had been unable to attend services for the past few years, his faith in God was unwavering. He taught by example the importance of faith and hard work. Yet he always enjoyed fun times with his family & friends.  He was a devoted son, brother, husband, uncle, Daddy & Granddaddy. He loved fishing, boating and hunting (and his dogs), and always included family in his activities. His legacy is one of faith, loyalty, love, devotion and good times.

Pat is survived by three sons, Randy Porter (Ruby) and Jeff Porter (Louann) of Brookhaven, MS, and Terry Porter of New York, NY; daughter-in-law, Charlotte Porter; two sisters, Ellen Summers of Natchez, MS, and JoAnn Worrell of Panama City, FL; nine grandchildren, twenty-one great grandchildren and one great-great grandson. He is preceded in death by his parents, Barney & Katie Porter, his wife, Eloyce Watts Porter, his son, Ronnie Porter, his grandson, Brad Porter, brothers, Paul Porter, Billy Porter & Lynwood Porter, and sisters, Geneva Bardwell, Raybelle Lofton and Pearl Ford.