Celious Barner Jr, was the third of nine children born to the late Reverend Dr. Celious Barner, Sr. and Rosie Lee Tate Barner on September 24, 1939. He was preceded in death by five siblings, Larry, Gloria, Clint, Shirley and Willie. "C" as he was affectionately called, professed Christ at an early age and joined the Metropolitan AME Methodist Church. He became a member of the Mt. Zion Baptist Church No.2 in 1955 upon the acceptance of the pastoralship by his father. Celious, Jr. remained a dedicated and faithful member of Mt. Zion until his untimely death on Monday April 6, 2009. Celious served in numerous capacities, such as Superintendent of the Sunday school, Trustee, and was ordained a Deacon. Celious was educated in the Public School System of Mobile County and graduated from Central High School in 1958. He continued his education and received a Bachelor of Science Degree from Alabama State University, Montgomery, ALabama and Masters of Arts Degree from Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana. While attending ASU, he was initiated into the Beta Upsilon Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Upon graduating, Celious accepted a position as an educator with the Choctaw County Board of Education and later relocated to Mobile to work in the Public School System. Because of his magnetic personality, he garnered the attention of Dr. Stanford Bishop who unrelentlessly presuaded Celious to take an administrative position with Bishop State Junior College. Through the trainings of his illusterous fraternity and the administrative experience from Bishop State Junior College, his passion to ensure African Americans were afforded an opportunity in the field of industry overwhelmed him. He accepted positions with the Aluminum Company of America (ALCOA), and International Paper Company as a Minority Recruiter. However his passion to help African American students receive a valuable and quality education was equally as overwheming and he returned to Bishop State Community College and worked tirelessly until his retirement in 2002. Celious Leaves to cherish and celebrate his memory, a loving and devoted wife, Juanita, two children Pamela (Ennis) McCorvey, Montgomery, AL.; Celious III (Catherine), Houston, TX.; two step children Marilyn Dunning, Mobile, AL.; Richard (Valeria) Dunning, Charlotte, NC.; a sister Yvonne Wright, Mobile, AL.; two brothers Carl (Voncile) Barner, Detroit, MI., and James Barner, Mobile, AL.; four sister-in-laws, Arlette Barner, Detroit, MI.; Wilma Jean (Corey) Boyuer, Francine Smith and Janice Harper, Selma, AL.; Maeotis (Christopher) Brown, Sheveport LA.; Sharon (Ishmel) Smith, Nashville, TN.; three brother-in-laws, Cleotis (Janice) Pritchett, Roy Lee (Monica) Pritchett, Mobile, AL.; Michael (Mary) Pritchett, Oklahoma City, OK.; ten grandchildren, one great-grandson, four God-children, and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends. Special thanks to the Springhill Home Health and Hospice and Dr. Harry Studdard for the the loving Kindness and moral support provided to Celious Barner and the family. Visitation will be held on Friday April 10, 2009 at Mt. Zion Baptist Church No. from 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. and after 11:00 a.m. on Saturday April 11, 2009 at the Mobile Baptist Sunlight District Auditorium 809 Seminary St. Prichard, AL. 36610. until the 1:00 p.m. funeral hour. Interment will follow in the Gethsemane Cemetery North. Professional services entrusted to Small's Mortuary 950 S. Board Street, Mobile, Al.

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