FAYETTE &8212; A treasurer and Bible study leader for her church, who sold sweets from her home to raise funds for the church.

An active member of her community&8217;s TRIAD group, which empowered seniors to help fight crime.

An 81-year-old widow and mother of nine who was the mainstay of her extended family.

A breast cancer survivor, cancer-free for the last several years, who encouraged everyone she knew to visit their doctors every six months.

A jolly woman who looked much younger than her years and enjoyed keeping her house and yard among the most immaculate in her Oak Street neighborhood.

That&8217;s what Fayette lost when it lost Alma Churchhill, friends and family said Tuesday morning.

That was less than 24 hours after Churchhill was found slain in the dining room of her home, apparently from blunt trauma to the head.

&8220;One of her neighbors found her,&8221; Churchhill&8217;s niece, Evelyn Reed of Fayette, said. &8220;She&8217;s just so active, always going somewhere. So (the neighbor) went to check on her.&8221;

That happened between 6:30 and 7 p.m. Monday. As of Tuesday, the Jefferson County Sheriff&8217;s Office was questioning several &8220;persons of interest&8221; in the case, Sheriff Peter Walker said.

He wouldn&8217;t say whether the Monday morning escape of a state inmate near Fayette was thought to be connected with the death.

By late Tuesday morning, Churchhill&8217;s body had been transported to Jackson for an autopsy Walker said was set to take place as early as Tuesday night.

In Fayette, Churchhill&8217;s relatives were left to ponder what had happened to the woman niece Evelyn Reed described as &8220;a sweet, sweet woman &8230; a wonderful person.&8221;

Nine of Churchhill&8217;s 12 children are still living but are scattered from Natchez and Hattiesburg all the way to Illinois and Texas.

Still, she was close to the family members she had in and around Fayette, including Reed and Reed&8217;s husband, the Rev. Abraham Reed, an evangelist and radio personality.

&8220;This was so uncalled for,&8221; Evelyn Reed said, shaking her head.

&8220;She was the only aunt I had living. If (the killer) had just taken her money, none of this would have happened.&8221;

She stood in front of the crime tape that still marked off Churchhill&8217;s home. A single yellow rose blew in the wind in front of the small but tidy yellow-and-white house.

&8220;They told me she was found in the dining room,&8221; she said, looking away from the house. &8220;But just couldn&8217;t go in.&8221;

Evelyn&8217;s daughter, Lula Reed, found the shock of the past few hours giving way to sadness and anger.

&8220;I hope someone can find him,&8221; Lula Reed said, referring to her great-aunt&8217;s killer. &8220;And I hope he gets the death penalty. She didn&8217;t deserve to die like that.&8221;

Evelyn Reed said that depending on when Churchhill&8217;s body is returned from Jackson, her funeral services could be held as soon as Nov. 2.