Dolly Merchant

Dorothy Dean "Dolly" Bates Merchant, 84, passed peacefully from this life on Wednesday, July 28, 2021, at Lackey Memorial Hospital in Forest, Mississippi. Visitation will be 10:45-11:00 AM on Saturday, August 7, at Leesburg Baptist Church Cemetery, with a graveside service following at 11:00 AM.  In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations be made to Leesburg Baptist Church Cemetery Fund, 796 Hwy 481 N, Morton, MS 39117.

Dolly was born in the community of Leesburg in Rankin County, Mississippi on April 1, 1937, to L.S. "Jack" Bates and Dorothy Agnes Holmes Bates Everitt.  She was a member of Pelahatchie Baptist Church.

Dolly was a lady of many talents. She loved sewing, cooking, gardening, decorating, and crafting, and enjoyed sharing these talents with others.  You didn't leave her home without taking something she had made or without the knowledge of how to make it yourself.  She taught Sunday School and Vacation Bible School and catered weddings and other events for many years.

She and Wilbur created a home where everyone was welcome. She often joked that she was always prepared to add another potato to the pot and set another plate because she never knew how many would be there for supper.  She worked with Wilbur in the fields and he worked with her in the kitchen.  After her retirement as a bank teller at Rankin County Bank and Wilbur's retirement from farming, they worked together as an over-the-road truck driving team, traveling all over the US.

Dolly is preceded in death by her husband, Wilbur Glenn Merchant; her parents, L.S. "Jack" Bates and Dorothy Agnes Holmes Bates Everitt; sisters, Laura Lucille Bates Owen and Betty Joyce Bates Crapps; and son-in-law, Danny Lamar Ivy.

She is survived by daughters, Sharon Merchant Ivy, Glenda Merchant Alman (Buck), and Melisa Merchant Lytal; grandchildren, Summer Ivy Hammett (Phillip), Chance Ivy (Sara), Buck Alman (Ashley), Dusty Alman, James Lytal (Joanna), Jordan Lytal, and Savannah Lytal; great-grandchildren, Lennon Young, Daxton Hammett, Jude Hammett, CJ Ivy, Bascom Ivy, Bethani Grace Alman, Skylar Varnes, Landon Varnes, Quentin Alman, Reese Alman, Camden Alman, Aubrey Alman, Frannie Iwarat, Harper Lytal, and Dylan Lytal; and a host of in-laws, nieces and nephews.

Services provided by Ott & Lee Funeral Home of Morton.

Tel. (601) 732-6571