Funeral for James Louis Whitledge of Cape Girardeau will be held at 10 a.m. Friday at Ford and Sons Mt. Auburn Chapel. The Rev. Barry Pfanstiel will officiate, with burial in Russell Heights Cemetery at Jackson.

Friends may call at the chapel from 4-8 p.m. today.

Whitledge, 86, died Tuesday, April 14, 1998, at his home.

He was born June 19, 1911, at Pocahontas, son of Alex and Lucy Cotner Whitledge. He and Anna Mae Vance were married Aug. 8, 1944, in Gallatin, Tenn.

Whitledge was a graduate of Fruitland High School and a member of its basketball team.

He lived in Cape Girardeau and St. Louis while working with the Civil Service, retiring in 1966.

Whitledge was a veteran of the U.S. Army and served as an adviser with the Army Reserve units in Cape Girardeau. He was a member of VFW Post 3838.

Survivors include his wife; a daughter, Sandra Romack of Cape Girardeau; a brother, Herbert Whitledge of St. Louis; two sisters, Lois Morton of Jackson, Grace McNeely of Fruitland; two grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by two brothers and a sister.