Suzette Bevill

Suzette Rayner Bevill

Graveside services for Suzette Rayner Bevill will be held Saturday, March 4, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. at Magnolia Cemetery, with Bro. Bennie Hopkins officiating. Immediately following the service, all friends are invited to join the family at Suzette’s home for fellowship and sharing of memories. Webb &Stephens – North is honored to be entrusted with arrangements.

Suzette Rayner Bevill, 67, of Meridian, MS passed away on Tuesday, February 28th after a six-month battle with cancer.

Suzette was born on Dec. 14th, 1955 to Elaine Lyle and Hugh Semmes Rayner in New Orleans, LA. Shortly after her birth, the family returned to their home base of Meridian, MS, where she lived until she was married to her first husband, Ronnie O’Neal, of Demopolis, Alabama. Following their divorce, Suzette returned to Meridian before moving to Memphis with her second husband, Leonard A. Bevill, Jr. After nearly 15 years in Memphis, Suzette returned home to Meridian for good as a single mother. It was then that she sought to reach her true potential - as a nurse. She immersed herself in her studies and went on to become a psychiatric nurse at Alliance Health Center where she was greatly valued for her hard work and charisma. There she formed many friendships and gathered a wealth of wild stories, which she shared with great zeal and even greater embellishment. While she took great pride in her work, her true passion was horses. Suzette was an excellent horsewoman, having ridden American Saddle Horses and Tennessee Walking Horses competitively since early childhood. She gathered a wealth of wild stories as a competitive rider as well, a pattern that was present in all she did.

She is survived by her two children, Elizabeth O’Neal (John Freeman) of Iowa City, Iowa and Leonard “Doc” Bevill (Jenna Watkins) of Collinsville, Mississippi; her three grandchildren: Maggie Watkins (9), Archer Bevill (6), and Emory Ramey (4); and her sister, Liane (Michael) Mynatt. She was preceded in death by her father, Hugh S. Rayner and mother, Elaine L. Rayner of Meridian.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorials be made in Suzette’s honor to Hope Village for Children, PO Box 26, Meridian, MS 39302, or hopevillagems.org/donate.