HATTIESBURG —     A celebration of life for Carrol Major Wicker will be held Thursday, at 11 a.m., at University Baptist Church in Hattiesburg with Dr. Richard Allison and Rev. Rusty Edwards officiating. Burial will be Friday, at Pisgah Cemetery in Hickory Flat with Hulett-Winstead Funeral Home of Hattiesburg in charge of arrangements.

    Mrs. Wicker, 71, of Meridian, formerly of Hattiesburg, ended her courageous 20-year battle with scleroderma on Monday, Jan. 21, 2013, in Meridian. She was born in Miami, Fla., to George and Helen Major. During childhood she lived all over the eastern United States with her father’s duties with the Marine Corps. She was a graduate of Beaufort High School (S.C.) and the Greenville General Hospital School of Nursing. She met and married her husband, Dr. Ralph Wicker, during his neurosurgery residency in Charleston, S.C. After residency, they lived in Hattiesburg until his death in 1992. Carrol was a lifelong learner and went on to earn her bachelor’s in nursing, masters of science in health education, and her doctorate in science education, all from the University of Southern Mississippi. She was passionate about education and possessed a nurturing and generous spirit. She worked in many fields throughout her life including nursing, teaching elementary and college students, managing a medical practice, owning an educational store and volunteer extraordinaire. She helped start the Aldersgate Mission through Main Street United Methodist Church, was a founding member of DREAM, and taught with the Christian Women’s Job Corp. She served as a board member of the USM Foundation, the Hattiesburg Zoological Society, BancorpSouth, and as ADP Education Committee Chairman. After moving to Meridian in 2010, she became involved in the Adult Activities Center and the Poplar Springs Elementary PTA where she was currently serving as Fundraising Chairman. She was recognized in 2012 as one of the Meridian Star newspaper’s “Unsung Heroes.” She relished her role as a “Ya-Ya” to not only her grandchildren, but their friends. She never met a stranger and was a force of life even in her sickest times. Her loss will leave a void to all who knew her.

    Of all her accomplishments, she considered her three children her greatest ones.

    She is survived by her daughter, Jennifer (John) McRae and their two children, Collier and Anne Preston of Meridian; son, John David (Rachel) and their unborn daughter of San Diego; her daughter, Emily (Jeff) Ligon, their daughter Charlotte and unborn son of Raleigh, N.C.; brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Walter and Nella Wicker of Waxahachie, Texas; and, a host of nieces and nephews.

    She was preceded in death by her parents.

    Pallbearers will be R.A. Gray III, Dr. Lewis Hatten, Dr. Marcus Hogan, David McCullen, Dr. Bob Rhodes, Dr. Russell Travis, and Dr. Stoney Williamson.

    Memorials may be made to University Baptist Church or the charity of your choice.

    Visitation will be today, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., at Hulett-Winstead Funeral Home in Hattiesburg, and one hour prior to services at the church.