Special to The Democrat

NATCHEZ — The Krewe of Phoenix recently announced its royalty for the 2013 Mardi Gras season.

The krewe will celebrate with its king and queen’s ball Monday at the Natchez Community Center.

The invitation only call-out ball will be from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. Jan. 19 at the Natchez City Auditorium.

The Krewe of Phoenix parade will be at 5 p.m. Feb. 8 in downtown Natchez. And the grand ball will be at 8 p.m. Feb. 9 at the Natchez Convention Center. Tickets are $50.

The royalty are:

Rosalie XXXI — Sherry Bearden

Serving as Queen Rosalie XXXI is Sherry N. Bearden. A Natchez native and seventh generation Mississippian, Sherry has served on the Phoenix Board of Directors in positions of president, executive vice president, vice president, secretary, parade chairman, royalty chairman, call-out ball chairman, community liaison, publicity chairman and historian.

As president, Sherry helped initiate the John S. Callon Scholarship Fund and was instrumental in the re-organization of the Krewe.

Her time and energy devoted to a growing krewe made way for new policies in being community minded and marketing the celebration to the region. At present, the Krewe of Phoenix enjoys its ranking as the oldest and largest krewe in Natchez.

Sherry gives credit to the many dedicated and loyal members who served alongside her.

She also served as Queen Arethusa I with King Alpheus I, Kirk Montgomery, in 1992, as a founding member of the Mystic Krewe of Alpheus.

Sherry is a member of the Natchez-Adams County Humane Society, the Pilgrimage Garden Club, the Historic Natchez Foundation, the Ladies’ Auxiliary of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post 9573 and the Natchez Bluff Blues Fest Board.

In earlier years, she enjoyed working with children’s choirs, a number of charitable organizations, was the Natchez YMCA youth director and attended MCSW, the University of Southern Mississippi and Copiah-Lincoln Community College in Natchez.

Sherry and her husband, Charles E. Bearden, REX XXV, are the parents of four children.

They are advocates for abused and homeless animals and provide for or foster them in the country at their home and animal sanctuary, Buckhurst, at Sibley, with their six canine and two feline friends.

Rex XXXI — James T. Sessions

Representing Rex XXXI is Tim Sessions.

Tim is a native of Woodville and is a graduate of Wilkinson County Christian Academy. He attended Mississippi State University and graduated with a degree in banking from Louisiana State University.

Although he graduated from “Tiger Country,” he will always be a Bulldog at heart.

Tim is married to the former Donna Ruth Corley, his college sweetheart, and they made their home in Woodville for 23 years.

While in Woodville, Tim served in many capacities for a local bank moving up through the ranks from teller to president. During that time, he also served four terms on the Woodville City Board in the capacities of alderman and mayor-pro tem. Tim also helped revitalize the volunteer city/county fire department and sat on the board of directors of the Wilkinson County Civic Club which was instrumental in establishing the Woodville Main Street Authority.

Tim and his family were members of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Woodville.

Six years ago, Tim and family moved to Natchez and he is now manager of his family’s farm, JMS Properties, LP. They are members of The Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Vidalia, where Tim serves on the Mission Council.

Since moving to Natchez, Tim and his wife have enjoyed the Krewe of Phoenix and he served as Duke of Versailles in 2008. Tim has enjoyed participating in local events such as the Great Mississippi River Balloon Race, Historic Natchez Tableaux, the Jim Bowie Festival and other civic occasions.

Tim and Donna have two daughters, Mary Frances Sessions and Corley Anne Sessions Ross and one son in law, Jacob Ray Ross.

Duchess La Glorieuse —

Sherri LeMay

Sherri was born and raised in Arizona and is married to Brad LeMay.

Brad is a cardiologist in Natchez and was Rex IXXX for the Krewe of Phoenix.

Sherri has three children, JT, Brandi and Laci Clifton and four step-children, Lauren, Josh, Jay and Nathan, all she considers her own.

Sherri has been in health care since 1983 and currently works for Natchez Regional Medical Center as the human resources manager. Prior to moving to Natchez, she worked for the Sisters of Mercy in Hot Springs, Ark., for 21 years in human resources. Sherri has obtained her bachelor’s degree in business administration and is currently working on her master’s degree in human resources with an anticipated completion date in November 2012.

Sherri and her family attend Trinity Episcopal Church and she is a member of the Pilgrimage Garden Club. Sherri loves to spend time with her husband and family. She enjoys reading, dancing and traveling.

Duke Great Sun —

Stanley E. Cooper III

Stanley was born in Natchez but is a Louisiana resident who now resides on Lake St. John.

He is a graduate of Cathedral High School and attended the University of Southern Mississippi majoring in American studies and speech communications. After college, he worked in site acquisition with various cell phone companies during their tower network building phases in over 12 states.

He is a self-employed petroleum land man and owner of Stanco Petroleum where he worked with his late father. He is a member of the AAPL and works with various companies in the oil and gas industry to drill wells in the Miss-Lou.

An avid outdoorsman, Stanley enjoys all types of hunting and fishing as well as working on his property in Adams County. In his free time, he enjoys golfing and LSU sports.

Stanley is a past king of pilgrimage for the Natchez Garden Club and a member of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Vidalia. He is the son of Molly McDonough Cooper and the late Stanley E. Cooper Jr.

Duchess Marie Therese — Sherry Bartlett

Sherry was born in Natchez and moved overseas at age 14 to Great Yarmouth, England, where her father worked in the oil business in the North Sea. She graduated there from Bradwell American School.

After returning to the United States, Sherry attended Copiah-Lincoln Community College and continued her education at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, where she received her bachelor’s degree, majoring in English and elementary education. She is a member of the University of Southern Mississippi Alumni Association.

She was employed in the public school system as a teacher in Mississippi for 26 years and recently retired.

Sherry is a supporter of St. Jude Medical Research Hospital. She is a member of the Natchez Assembly of God and the Natchez-Adams County Humane Society. As well as being a member of the Krewe of Phoenix, she is a member of the Krewe of Has Beens and the Krewe of Friday.

Her sister Susan Callon’s father-in-law, John S. Callon served as Rex I in 1983.

Sherry is the widow of the late Charles “Chuck” Bartlett. Her parents are Carol Fatheree Wallace and the late Charles “Red” Wallace. Sherry has one daughter, Hope O’Malley-Smith, a registered nurse who lives in Brandon with her husband, Nathan.

Sherry is also a homeowner of the Reservoir in Brandon and enjoys boating, sweepstaking, reading, shopping and gardening. Sherry has a great love of animals and enjoys spending time with her three dogs and eight cats, most all of whom are “rescue” animals.

Duke of Versailles — Shelton Hand

Shelton is a native of Canton and has been a Natchez resident since 1992.

He received his bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of Mississippi and is employed by Three Rivers Farm Supply.

Since moving to Natchez, Shelton has been involved with the Rain & Hail Insurance Society, Concordia Ducks Unlimited, Santa Claus Committee, Cathedral Athletic Association and the Ole Miss Alumni Association. His hobbies include duck hunting with the Brabston Lodge Gang, Ole Miss sports, tailgating in the Grove and cooking the “Bobby Hall Breakfast Crew.”

He and his wife April have two children, Trey and Abigail and they are members of Jefferson Street United Methodist Church.

Duchess Panmure — Lacey Foster

Lacey Foster was born and raised in Vidalia where she still resides. She is married to Michael Foster and the mother of two children, Austin and Emma.

Lacey is a legal assistant for Smith, Taliaferro and Purvis Law Firm in Jonesville and specializes in Real Estate Litigation.

Duke Monfort Browne — Marcus Mathis

Marcus was born and raised in Mooresville, Ind., home of the infamous gangster, John Dillinger.

He graduated from Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind., and moved to St. Louis after being recruited to be a buyer for Macy’s Department Stores.

Currently, he is the director of marketing at EVR-USA, LLC in Vidalia and lives with his wife, Kyndee, and daughters, Morgan and Nora, in Ridgeland.

Duchess Marguerite Theresa de Limos — Beth DeAngelis

Beth is a Natchez native and a graduate of South Natchez High School.

She attended Copiah-Lincoln Community College and is a graduate of the Burk Baker School of Real Estate in Baton Rouge.

Beth is a Realtor at Paul Green & Associates, where she is a multi-million dollar producer, and is a 2009 graduate of Leadership Natchez.

Beth is a member of the Natchez Board of Realtors, Natchez-Adams Chamber of Commerce and Natchez Historic Foundation. She served as the executive officer for the Natchez Homebuilder’s Association for five years.

She is married to Tony DeAngelis and together, they share three daughters, Mia, Lindsey and Courtney and two granddaughters, Annie and Marley.

Beth enjoys playing with her grandchildren, boat riding on Lake Concordia and is a diehard Pittsburgh Steelers fan.

Duke Manuel Gayosa de Limos —

Jason E. Dauphin

Jason E. Dauphin is a Natchez native and a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin with a bachelor’s of business administration in marketing.

He is the son of Evelyn Reed Dauphin and E. Eugene “Gene” Dauphin Jr. and Mildred Dauphin of Natchez. He is brother to the late Louis “Louie” Dauphin of Natchez, Ben Dauphin of Kingwood, Texas, and the late Holly Dauphin Fields (former Krewe of Alpheus Queen and Royal Duchess).

Jason spent more than 20 years away from Natchez, living in Boca Raton, Fla., Austin, Texas, Las Vegas, Denver, Salt Lake City and Playa del Carmen, Mexico, working in real estate development for Fairfield Communities, Inc., selling medical supplies and equipment for Physician Sales & Service, selling pharmaceuticals for Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceuticals and Prometheus Laboratories, and selling condominium-hotel property for Kor Hotel Group.

He returned to Natchez in 2006 to be closer to his family. Since his return, Jason has worked in marketing/sales positions for Wellness Works, First Natchez Radio Group and in 2008, he joined Hospice Compassus were he currently works in marketing as a hospice care consultant.

As a volunteer, Jason serves as current co-chair of the Miss-Lou Regionalism Health care Committee, former board vice president of the Natchez Downtown Development Association. He is involved with the Natchez Food & Wine Festival and has performed in numerous productions at the Natchez Little Theatre. He is a member of Grace United Methodist Church, and enjoys motorcycles, scuba-diving, playing guitar, singing and the outdoors.

Duchess Eliza Lowe Little — Kayce Smith

Kayce is a graduate of Franklin County High School and Millsaps College, where she received a bachelor of arts degree in English. While at Millsaps, she was a member of Kappa Delta Sorority and remains active in their Chapter Advisory Board.

After college, she spent two years in Lexington, Ky., before moving to Atlanta, where she met her husband, also a Mississippi native. They spent six additional years in Atlanta before returning to Mississippi.

Kayce is employed by Good Hope Inc. in downtown Natchez.

She attends Parkway Baptist Church, is active in the Natchez Chamber of Commerce – Young Professionals and is a member of the Notary Public Association.

She enjoys spending time with family and friends, LSU and Saints football and traveling.

She is the daughter of Pete and Renee Cantu of Natchez and is married to Alan Smith of Brookhaven.

Duke of Monmouth — Wyatt Craig

Wyatt is a 2005 graduate of Trinity Episcopal School and a 2010 graduate of Mississippi State University with a degree in business administration.

He is the son of Wade Craig and the late Elizabeth Craig and the grandson of Josie Craig and the late Wadley Craig of Ferriday, Roland Rhodes of Natchez and Elsie Rhodes of Starkville.

Wyatt is the vice president of Sports Center Inc., with locations in Natchez and Starkville and served as Natchez Garden Club King in 2011.

Wyatt enjoys hunting and fishing, football of all levels, MSU and LSU sports, traveling and boating on Lake St. John.

Duchess Varina Howell Davis — Teri Taylor Roddy

Now owner and principal designer at Patina Home in Natchez, Teri spent 20 years in radio and television in the Washington, D.C., area and in Mississippi. She has had virtually every job in radio from on air personality to program director and in TV was a helicopter reporter.

She is the mother of 28-year-old son Nick, who is an internet marketing and parts manager at Peddler’s Outdoor in Natchez, and 27-year-old daughter Christie, who lives in Madison and is a behavior analyst working with children with neurological disabilities through Mississippi Children’s Home services.

Teri married her husband Walt 11 years ago. Walt, a former Duke, is the IT director at Natchez Regional Medical Center. They met ballroom dancing in Jackson and moved to Natchez seven years ago.

An interior designer since 1998 working on residential and commercial interiors, Teri is a master certified decorative artisan. Studied under Scottish Master Cait Whitson, at Carte Blanche studio in Scotland and classically trained Italian artist Gaia Calcatera as well as multiple master instructors in the U.S.

Teri is a certified concrete overlay artist and the only Society of Gilders member in the state of Mississippi.

Walt and Teri recently purchased the former Sears Automotive Center building just behind the old Mainstream fitness parking lot off Main Street and have turned the 10,000-square-foot facility into the perfect studio. They are currently working on the second floor to make it a living space for them and their visiting guests and students.

Duke Jefferson Davis — Brad Yarbrough

Brad grew up in Arkansas where he graduated the University of Arkansas in 1989 with a bachelor’s degree in finance.

After a short stint as a stock broker in Fort Lauderdale, he has worked in the retail car business in Little Rock and Atlanta prior to moving to Natchez in 2002.

He currently owns and operates several businesses in the Miss-Lou including Natchez Ford Lincoln, Performance Dodge Chrysler Jeep and Miss-Lou Body Shop. He has two sons, Hunter who is 14 and Sterling who is 12.

Brad stays busy coaching his son’s football team at Trinity Episcopal, being involved in local economic development, serving as chairman of his National Auto Dealers Association 20 group, donating and contributing to local causes and competing in local running events including the marathon in New Orleans.