Bennie Stone Gooden, 72, of Clarksdale

Bennie Stone Gooden, 72, of Clarksdale died Thursday, Feb. 19, 2009, at Northwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center in Clarksdale.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Church of God In Christ state headquarters in Clarksdale with the Rev. Clyde E. Glenn officiating. Burial will follow at Heavenly Rest Cemetery, under the direction of Delta Burial in Clarksdale.

Visitation will be held from 1-4 p.m. and from 5-7 p.m. Friday at Chapel Hill Church.

He was born on Dec. 14, 1936, in Clarksdale to James Sr. and Jannie Stone Gooden. He was a real estate developer and a retired educator. He was affiliated with the Baptist church. He graduated from Higgins High School, Coahoma Junior College and Jackson State University. He was a lifetime member of the NAACP.

He was preceded in death by wife, Addie Young Gooden; parents, James Sr. and Jannie Stone Gooden; and one sibling, James Gooden Jr.

He is survived by four sons, Bennie S. Gooden Jr. of Cleveland, and Jonathan A. Gooden, James Norvell Gooden and Jeffery L. Gooden, all of Clarksdale; two daughters, Janice P. Hiekmon and Marian L. Miller, both of Clarksdale; and three brothers, Earl Gooden, Eugene Gooden and Joseph Gooden, all of Clarksdale.