Living

Notes:

William Butler Earthman Jr., 81, died at Promise Hospital Thursday, May 21, 2015.

He was born in Harriman, Tenn., Sept. 7, 1933, and lived the last 11 years in Vicksburg. He was married to Mary Ellen Morlas Earthman for 60 years.

He graduated from Mississippi State University in 1954 and retired from International Paper after 38 years, serving in various engineering and management positions. After retiring, he worked as project manager for Raytheon in Mobile, Ala. He was a licensed professional engineer and a former member of A.S.M.E and T.A.P.P.I. After his second retirement, he had an antique business and was an advocate and board member of the Vicksburg-Warren Humane Society.

He was preceded in death by his parents, William B. Earthman Sr. and Elizabeth Earthman; and his
granddaughter, Cathryn Brumbelow.

He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Mary Ellen Morlas Earthman; three daughters, Ellen (Tommy) Presson of Vicksburg, Lucine Hawn of Vicksburg, and Aminda Brumbelow of Mobile, Ala.; grandchildren, David Fletcher of Norfolk, Va. Adam Brumbelow of Pensacola, Fla., Nick Presson of Vicksburg and Samantha Hawn of Vicksburg; and great-grandchildren.

Memorials can be made to Vicksburg-Warren Humane Society 6600 Highway 61 S. Vicksburg, Ms. 39180.

William married Mary Ellen Morlas on 23 Oct 1953 in Starkville, Oktibbeha County, Mississippi. Mary (daughter of Leon Joseph Morlas and Mattie Aminda Plunkett) was born on 3 Jan 1933 in New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana; died on 11 Dec 2020 in Vicksburg, Warren County, Mississippi. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

The Vicksburg Post
Bill and Mary Ellen Earthman
Published Friday, December 18, 2020

Excerpted from longer memorial for both Bill and Mary Ellen Earthman

During the time Bill was employed by International Paper, the family moved and lived in several different states. Mary Ellen maintained the home and cared fro their three children. She was a lover of all animals and cared for domestic as well as anythign wild that needed her help.

Bill and Mary Ellen supported several different humane societis and dedicated their lives to helping animals. Bill was vice president of the Vicksburg Warren Humane Society before he passed away.

Both loved antiques and antique auctions.

Mary Ellen was preceded in death by her parents. Leon Joseph Morlas and Mattie Plunkett Morlas, her husband of 61 years, WIlliam "Bill" Earthman; brother, Leon Joseph Morlas Jr; granddaughter, Cathryn Brumbelow; daughter Aminda Brumbelow; and son-in-law Georg Hawn Jr.

They were survived by daughters Mary Ellen Presson (Tommy) and Lucine Earthman Hawn; sister-in-law, Betty Joyce Morlas; four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Notes:

Keith McGuire noted that he worked on the construction of the Atlas Missile Site near Altus, Oklahoma during the summer of 1961, visiting with his sister Josephine several times during his stay in Oklahoma.

Leon J. Morlas

Leon J. Morlas, 72, a resident of No. 30 Lemoyne Rd., Pass Christian Isles, retired electrician and dairyman, died Tuesday at 8:55 a.m. in Memorial Hospital in Gulfport where he had been a patient for 10 days. Mr. Morlas, born Oct. 19, 1903, in New Orleans, was owner of Leon Morlas Dairy Farm for 25 years. He had resided at this present address since 1963. In later life, Mr. Morlas was in the electrical business and was a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 130, New Orleans. He was a Catholic, a member of St. Paul's Church of Pass Christian. Mr. Morlas is survived by his widow, Mrs. Mattie Plunkett Morlas, Pass Christian; one son, Leon J. Morlas, Jr. Chattanooga, Tenn; one dauthter, Mrs. Mary Ellen Earthman, Camden, Ark.; five sisters, Mrs. Claude Bishop, Bay St. Louis, Sister Mary Cyril, R.S.M., Mrs. Eugene Schoenfelf and Mrs. Alvin Rohli, New Orleans, and Mrs. Kenneth Carpenter, Woodward, Okla.; three granddaughters, and on great-grandson. Friends may call Friday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Riemann Funeral Home Chapel in Pass Christian. Recitation of the Rosary will be at 8 p.m. A prayer service will be held Saturday at 11:15 a.m. at the chapel followed by a Requiem Mass at 11:30 a.m. in St. Paul's Catholic Church. The Rev. Michael Clifford, assistant pastor, will be the celebrant. Burial will be in the Live Oak Cemetery.

(Obituary courtesy of Keith McGuire)

Leon married Mattie Aminda Plunkett on 29 Mar 1926 in Bay Saint Louis, Hancock County, Mississippi. Mattie was born on 26 Jun 1905 in McNeill, Pearl River County, Mississippi; died on 31 Mar 1998 in Vicksburg, Warren County, Mississippi. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

The daughter of Dr. Randolph Joseph PLUNKETT and Ellen Liza HARBESON. Her location of death was ASSUMED based on her last residence shown on the SSDI.

Notes:

Owner of La Bella Creole Dairy. Bennie Zahn wrote, in the January 9, 2000 issue of THE TIMES-PICAYUNE (Living, Section E, page 7), that "The property was originally acquired in the late 1800s by John Morlas who made the purchase with silver dollar coins collected from wealthy customers on his milk route. The family legend is, that whenever he was given a silver dollar in payment for milk and cream, he tossed it onto the top of the armoire in his bedroom. When this property which adjoined the Tulane (University) tract was put on the market, he gathered all of the silver coins, counted them and found that he had $8,000, enough to buy the property. After his death in 1923, his wife, Lucine Roquevert Morlas, sold part of the tract, about 3,800 feet long with a depth varying from 100 to 140 feet, for $100,000 for the then proposed St. Vincent Infant Asylum. Within a year, the property was resold for $165,000 to men who had successful experience in local developement and who started immediately to beautify the ground. Today the property is called Versailles Boulevard and extends from Claiborne Avenue to Fontainebleau Drive."

John married Lucine Roquevert on 28 May 1888 in St. Stephen's Church, New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana. Lucine (daughter of Jean Louis Roquevert and Blazine Pene) was born on 28 Jan 1869 in New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana; died on 16 Feb 1946 in New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana; was buried in Metairie Cemetery (Lake Lawn Metairie), New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

(Research):An mtDNA sample supplied a direct female descendant of Lucine (a child of Pat McGuire, the daughter of Josephine Morlas), was analyzed by FamilyTreeDNA in Houston. Their analysis showed the following Haplogroup assignment, along with the following differences from the Cambridge Reference Sequence.

HVR1 Haplogroup
K
HVR1 differences
from ?u?CRS?/u?
16224C
16519C

The mitochondrial super-haplogroup U encompasses haplogroups U1-U7 and haplogroup K. Haplogroup K is found through Europe, and contains multiple closely related lineages indicating a recent population expansion. The origin of haplogroup K dates to approximately 16,000 years ago, and it has been suggested that individuals with this haplogroup took part in the pre-Neolithic expansion following the Last Glacial Maximum. William Hurst, on his Haplogroup K Website, writes that "Katrine," the founding mother of mitochondrial DNA haplogroup K, was one of the "Seven Daughters of Eve" as listed in the 2001 book of that title by Bryan Sykes. A lot of happened since 2001, but the book is still valuable.

Katrine lived about 16,000 years ago. Perhaps the oldest known K descendant was Oetzi the Iceman whose frozen body was discovered in the Alps in 1991. Estimated at 5000 years old, the Iceman proved to have the basic mutations for a K: 16224C and 16320C. Every K is a cousin of Oetzi.