Home with Heroes ends operations

The nonprofit founded by the late G. Mark LaFrancis served veterans and their families

By Roscoe Barnes III
Natchez, MS, USA / ListenUpYall.com
Oct 20, 2026 | 4:36 PM

The late G. Mark LaFrancis, founder of the Home with Heroes Foundation, stands beside a cutout of Lt. Green at the Military Museum and Veterans Welcome Center in August 2023. The foundation operated the museum and welcome center, which closed in 2025. (Click on image to enlarge.)

NATCHEZ, Miss. – The Home with Heroes Foundation, a nonprofit founded in 2015 by the late G. Mark LaFrancis to help veterans and their families, has ended operations, Foundation President Robert Foley announced.

In an October 16 email, Foley informed his board members that the foundation had lost its 501(c)(3) designation and would no longer solicit or receive donations.
 
“The reason for this is because the State of Mississippi chose to send Mark an email instead of an official letter stating that our charter had to be re-registered,” Foley wrote. “As Mark was incapacitated with terminal cancer and ultimately passed away due to his illness, the request for recertification was not brought to our attention.”
 
The foundation’s remaining funds will be distributed to local charitable organizations, Foley wrote. He presented the following accounting of recent fundraising and donations:
 
* Over $5,000 was raised through the Wreaths Across America drive in December 2025.
 
* The foundation spent nearly $500 to host the 100th birthday celebration for U.S. Air Force veteran John “Captain Jack” Kerwin.
 
* In September 2026, the organization donated $2,500 to Sam Minor, the county veterans services officer, to purchase turkeys for the VFW Post 9573 turkey giveaway scheduled for November.
 
* This month, the foundation donated $1,500 to the local VFW Post 9573 to support a recruiting drive and an event the post hosted at the Natchez Balloon Festival.
 
After all checks have cleared, about $1,000 will be donated to the Stew Pot organization, Foley wrote.
 
“I did an unofficial survey over the past summer, and the numbers indicated to me that Stew Pot had the greatest reach to the largest number of Natchez veterans,” he said.
 
Foley closed his email by thanking the foundation’s board members and volunteers.
 
“I wanted to say that working with all of you at the clothing bank and the museum has been a highlight of my life,” he said. “I am truly grateful for all the time and effort that you have put into the Home with Heroes Foundation. I am proud of the work that we have done, and I will never forget my experience working with all of you. I am also sure that Mark would be as proud and honored for all of your efforts.”
 
LaFrancis, a U.S. Air Force veteran, died in June 2024 and is buried at Natchez National Cemetery. His wife, Eileen Mary Maher, died in August 2025, and is memorialized on the reverse side of his headstone.
 
LaFrancis founded Home with Heroes to help, honor, and serve veterans. The organization’s programs included the annual Wreaths Across America observance, outdoor veterans retreats, trips to the National World War II Museum in New Orleans and other military museums, Visit-A-Vet Project for veterans who could benefit from friendly visits, donations to veteran scholarships, and the collection of U.S. flags for retirement.
 
According to Ben Tucker, chairman of the Home with Heroes board, LaFrancis was a prolific fundraiser who helped veterans meet food and clothing needs through the organization’s charitable efforts.
 
For several years, LaFrancis also helped raise funds for the annual Wreaths Across America program. That service will now be provided by VFW Post 9573, according to Gabi Crousillac, the foundation’s vice president.
 
In 2018, Home with Heroes opened the Miss-Lou Military Museum and Veterans Welcome/Information Center in a room provided by VFW Post 9573 at 318 Sgt. Prentiss Drive. The museum later moved to 107 Jefferson Davis Blvd., where it celebrated its grand opening on November 12, 2023. It closed in June 2025.
 
Anyone who contributed items to the museum and would like them returned should contact Robert Foley at rcfoley@yahoo.com.

Courage in the Moment: George Metcalfe survived a bombing attempt, changed civil rights era in Natchez

I’m happy to share my latest article featured in Natchez Magazine (Fall 2026).

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This article examines the life of George Metcalfe (1911-1989), a prominent civil rights leader whose attempted assassination by the Ku Klux Klan helped catalyze a movement that transformed Natchez and Adams County, Mississippi. As president of the Natchez NAACP, he played a pivotal role in one of the most successful local civil rights campaigns in the state.

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The article explores his life, leadership, and lasting impact on the struggle for racial equality.

Publication: Natchez Magazine, Fall 2026 (pages 29-31)

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See the PDF version at this link:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/416409979_Courage_in_the_Moment_George_Metcalfe_survived_a_bombing_attempt_changed_civil_rights_era_in_Natchez

Enslavement in Early Mississippi: People, Labor, and Travel on the Mississippi River

Pictured from left: Brother Rogers, retired MDAH historian; Roscoe Barnes III of Visit Natchez; and Caleb Ellison, MDAH program manager. (Click on image to enlarge.)

I was happy to speak at the “Journey to Colonial Mississippi: An America250 Celebration” on October 1-3 at the Old Capitol Museum in Jackson, Mississippi. The event was hosted by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.

My topic was “Enslavement in Early Mississippi: People, Labor, and Travel on the Mississippi River.”
 
See the full presentation at this link:
 
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/415738593_Enslavement_in_Early_Mississippi_People_Labor_and_Travel_on_the_Mississippi_River

ArtsNatchez’s October Artist of the Month rediscovers lifelong passion

After 45 years, Del Loy returns to the canvas
 
By Roscoe Barnes III
Natchez, MS, USA / ListenUpYall.com
Oct 6, 2026 | 12:37 PM

Artist Del Loy works on an oil painting in his studio. Loy's work blends elements of impressionism and realism. Photo courtesy of Del Loy. (Click on image to enlarge.)

NATCHEZ, Miss. -- Del Loy stopped painting in his early 20s to focus on his family and his career. Forty-five years later, he felt an urge he could not ignore: an unmistakable and unrelenting desire to pick up a brush and start painting again.
 
Since following that urge, he has found recognition and a ready audience for his work, while rediscovering a joy he once knew.
 
“A blank canvas invites me to explore,” Loy says. “While a sketch, photo reference, or live setting offers inspiring motifs, expressing emotion with pigment and texture is what drives my art.
 
“Whether building layers over time or getting it down all at once, painting is about interpreting the subject through composition and color. The goal is to inspire viewers to share my vision and enjoy the experience.”
 
Loy is ArtsNatchez Gallery's Artist of the Month for October. His paintings will be on display Saturday, October 10, at the gallery at 425 Main St., with a reception from 5 to 7 p.m. Refreshments will be served, and the event is open to the public.
 
Loy is an oil painter whose work blends elements of impressionism and realism. “I primarily do landscapes,” he says. “I do fine art. I enjoy doing Mississippi and Texas landscapes.”
 
Loy’s work as an impressionist is inspired in part by Claude Monet, whose image – and quotes – appear on the Del Loy Studio Facebook page.
 
On Saturday, visitors will see a selection of Loy’s work, including paintings of the Natchez Bluff with a steamboat in the background and various Mississippi landscapes. His centerpiece will be a large 36-by-52 painting of Stanton Hall, created specifically for this event.
 
Early career
 
Loy was born in Malvern, Arkansas, near Hot Springs. His family settled in Monroe, Louisiana, for a number of years before they moved to Natchez. Loy was in the 11th grade when he arrived in Natchez.
 
Loy says he grew up working in grocery stores. His father owned the Lewis’ Market chain, which grew from four stores in the Miss-Lou area to seven during his tenure.
 
After graduating from Natchez High School in 1971, Loy attended Gulf Coast Bible College in Texas, now Mid-America Christian University in Oklahoma City, where he earned a bachelor's degree in Christian ministry.
 
After completing his studies, Loy entered the ministry as a pastor. He served in California and Texas. He also engaged in church planting.
 
“I ministered for about 10 years and moved back to Natchez,” he says. “I went back to work for the family supermarket business and retired in 2020. Then I picked up my brushes again after 45 years.”
 
He and his wife Renae moved to Brookhaven five years ago to be near their son and family. Loy paints from his studio behind his home.   
 
Brown paper sacks
 
Loy is a self-taught artist who began drawing at an early age. “As a kid, I drew all the time on anything I could get my hands on,” Loy recalls. He recalls drawing on the backside of brown paper grocery bags. While in high school, he served as president of the art club.
 
Loy was 20 when he completed his first oil painting, and he still remembers the subject: a magnolia blossom. He next painted a portrait of his sister, Rhoda Gatson.
 
He painted for two or three years and then stopped.
 
“We started having kids and I put it aside. Family and career took over,” he says. But even then, he never lost interest in the arts. “When I was not painting, I was going to museums and reading books about art,” he says.
 
When asked what he likes most about painting, he says it comes from the soul.
 
“It’s something I should have done all my life. It’s something I feel compelled to do,” he says. “I spend 4 to 6 hours a day in my studio painting.”
 
Loy is a productive artist who skillfully juggles multiple projects at any given time. He explains how this is done in a note he shared on Facebook: “I work on up to five pieces at a time. While paint dries on one, I'll work on another.”
 
Awards and recognition
 
Since he returned to painting, Loy’s work has generated high praise. “The reaction from audiences has been quite good,” he says, noting he has sold several paintings since July and has sold many more through Facebook.
 
Loy is a member of the South Mississippi Art Association. In 2025, his entries in SMAA juried shows won two first place prizes in oil painting and in watercolor, one second place, and one honorable mention.
 
He held a solo exhibition of thirty-seven paintings at the Lucile Parker Galleria on the William Carey University campus in Hattiesburg in the fall of 2025 and will be the featured solo artist in Hattiesburg’s Festival South in 2027.
 
Loy says he’s pleased with his progress. Now in his early 70s, he hasn’t slowed down. In fact, his outlook may be summed up in a meme he posted on his Facebook page, which states, “Never underestimate an old man who still paints in his 70s.”
 
The quote makes Loy chuckle.
 
ArtsNatchez Gallery is open daily at 10 a.m. For more information, call 601-442-0043.
 

Untangling the birth date of Wharlest Jackson Sr.

Top of the Morning column published in The Natchez Democrat (Friday, October 2, 2026, page 4A) 
 

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Top of the Morning

 

Untangling the birth date of Wharlest Jackson Sr.

 

By Roscoe Barnes III

 

If you’ve done any reading or research on Wharlest Jackson Sr., the civil rights leader who died when his truck was bombed by the Ku Klux Klan on February 27, 1967, you have probably noticed different dates given for his birth. If you visit Minor Street at the site where his truck exploded, you’ll see a historical marker presenting 1937 as the year he was born.
 
Unfortunately, there’s quite a bit of conflicting information about the birth year of this important figure in Natchez’s civil rights history. This discrepancy is reflected not only on the marker, but also on his headstone and various websites.
 
In this column, I examine a discrepancy in the historical record concerning Jackson's date of birth and the information currently displayed on the historical marker honoring him.
 
Here are the different dates:
 
* The historical marker on Minor Street lists his birth year as 1937.
 
* The Find a Grave page lists his birth year as 1929.
 
 * His headstone at Natchez National Cemetery lists his birth year as 1930.
 
* The Veterans Legacy Memorial page also lists 1930.
 
In September 2025, I discussed these conflicting dates by phone with Denise Jackson Ford, Jackson’s daughter. She told me that her father’s birth certificate lists his year of birth as 1929, while his death certificate lists 1930.
 
According to Ford, his actual birthday was December 7, 1929, based on the birth certificate. Ford also explained the discrepancy on the historical marker on Minor Street. She said that 1937 was the birth year of her mother, Exerlena, and that it was mistakenly placed on the marker as Wharlest’s birth year.
 
If Wharlest was born on December 7, 1929, then he was 37 years old when he was killed on February 27, 1967, and not 36, as reported in some accounts.
 
Surprisingly, a number of highly respected sources continue to report that Jackson was 36 years of age when he died. One example appears in PBS Frontline's American Reckoning project. An article accompanying the documentary describes Jackson as a "36-year-old Korean War veteran and father of five." Another example appears in the 2015 Guardian article, “Families' wounds stay open as decades-old racist killings are left unsolved.” The article states: “Wharlest Jackson Sr died at 36 when a bomb went off under his car in 1967. His family is one of dozens still fighting for justice after tragedy.”
 
The age of 37 is also supported by the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. In an overview of the case, the department describes Wharlest as a 37-year-old African American man who had recently been promoted to a new position at Armstrong Tire and Rubber Company. The department notes that the bombing occurred around 8 p.m. on February 27, 1967.
 
Wharlest had left the plant after working overtime on his day shift and had driven about six blocks when his pickup truck exploded. The FBI believes the bomb or other explosive device had been placed under the driver’s seat area outside the truck frame, according to the Justice Department.
 
The birth certificate information provided by Wharlest’s daughter, combined with the Justice Department’s account of the case, provides strong evidence that Wharlest Jackson Sr. was born on December 7, 1929.

--------------

ROSCOE BARNES III, Ph.D., is the cultural heritage tourism manager at Visit Natchez.

Dread and Dreams: The Mississippi River and the Journey of Prince Ibrahima

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I was honored to speak about Prince Ibrahima at the Pilgrimage Garden Club Symposium held Saturday, September 26, 2026, at The Carriage House in Natchez, Mississippi. The program was held in memory of James McHenry Wade, curator of Longwood. Its theme was “The People, River, and History that Shaped Natchez.”

My presentation examines the Mississippi River as both a passage into bondage and a pathway toward freedom in the remarkable life of Prince Ibrahima, the West African Muslim prince who spent 40 years enslaved on a plantation near Natchez. His story reveals the river’s complex and often contradictory role, as a force that carried enslaved people into captivity and later became part of his journey toward liberation.

See the full presentation at this link:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/414916514_Dread_and_Dreams_The_Mississippi_River_and_the_Journey_of_Prince_Ibrahima

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Wonderful time at 2nd Annual Pilgrimage Garden Club Symposium in Natchez, Miss.

Pictured here, from left, are Roscoe Barnes III, cultural heritage tourism manager at Visit Natchez; Becky Anderson, educator and historian at the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians; Dr. Maurice Nutt; and Dr. Terrel Williams, president of the Pilgrimage Garden Club. Anderson also spoke at the symposium. (Click on image to enlarge.)

On Saturday, September 26, 2026, I had the privilege of speaking at the Pilgrimage Garden Club Symposium, held in memory of the late James McHenry Wade. The theme was “The People, River, and History that Shaped Natchez.”

I was especially honored to meet Rev. Dr. Maurice J. Nutt, a Catholic priest and the great-great-grandson of Haller and Julia Nutt of Longwood.

It was a wonderful afternoon of sharing stories about the people and history that have helped shape Natchez.