Laura Inez Deavenport Barge

Laura Inez (Deavenport) Barge

Laura Inez Barge was born September 25, 1933 to Earnest W. Deavenport, Sr. and Laura Mae (Hailey) Deavenport. She was born in an upstairs room of what is now Cockrell Funeral Home in Macon, Mississippi. She attended Macon schools and graduated from Macon High School. While in school, she showed a propensity for literature having an affinity for poetry. After graduating from high school, she married Charles Richard Barge who had moved to Macon from Jackson with his family at Lake Forest Ranch.

Inez, as she was known locally, attended Bob Jones University in Greenville, S.C., with Richard where Richard had attended the year prior. After one year at Bob Jones, both attended Mississippi College in Clinton, MS, for one year. The couple was living at Lake Forest as Richard began working with his dad in the family timberlands. Inez told Richard that she only needed two years of college. So Richard and Inez started their family as three children were born while they lived at the camp. Richard took over the management of the camping activities and the family timberlands in August of 1959 upon his father’s sudden death. In 1961 the family moved into a house they built in Macon behind his mother’s house. They had one more child together in 1962, so Inez raised four children with a great emphasis on their education and spiritual development. When her oldest child was in high school and the other children well established, her interest in literature beckoned her to complete her college degree. She finally graduated in 1971 With Distinction earning a B.S. degree in English Education from Mississippi State University. She did her practice teaching at Noxubee County High School. In the 1972 school year, she taught English at Central Academy in Macon, and was known as a serious, somewhat demanding teacher, but cared greatly for her students. Going back to college prompted her to further advance in her beloved field. She had an innate ability to teach. She returned to Mississippi State for the second time to attain her Master’s degree in Literature, graduating in 1975. During this time she was writing from a Christian perspective and reading with an emphasis on Literature, Philosophy, and Christian Theology. For many years she had been known as an accomplished Bible teacher as she taught a women’s Bible class consisting of a diverse group of women, and taught Sunday School classes. She realized that in order to be taken seriously in the academic world she needed a PhD, so she enrolled in the PhD literature study program at the University of Alabama. She completed her degree in 1986, and in all her undergraduate and graduate programs, she excelled making “A’s” in every course with the exception of Math For Teachers. She never was able to get the hang of mathematics. Having earned her Doctorate she took Laura as her professional name and taught in various colleges and universities. She taught as an adjunct professor at MUW, MSU Starkville, University of Alabama, Mississippi College at Clarke, and Belhaven College. She secured the position as Chair of the English Department at Belhaven College, and served there for five years, commuting between Macon and Jackson. She gave up her position due to the load on her and Richard. She settled into a position perfect for her. She served as Adjunct Professor at Mississippi State, Meridian campus, and taught graduate level courses one night a week. Her dean permitted her to teach courses she wanted to teach such as “The Bible As Literature”, “Christian Writers In The Western Tradition”, and other similar courses. She served in this position until her forced retirement due to the onset of dementia in 2010. Over the course of her career, she influenced many students and non-students who audited her courses, and many colleagues. Her accomplishments were many as she had a penchant for publishing her works. This was done out of love and passion for academics and not to earn tenure. When she earned her Doctorate degree, she published her dissertation God, The Quest, The Hero: Thematic Structures In Beckett’s Fiction . Her major professor commented that none of his students had ever published their dissertation. She published numerous other essays on Samuel Beckett including Out of Ireland: Revisionist Strategies in Beckett's Drama , and Samuel Beckett and the Idea of God . She published in the Asbury Journal, and it is quite rare for a literary scholar to publish in a theological journal. She completed her career with her final publication, the culmination of all her life work, with her book Exploring Worldviews in Literature , from William Wordsworth to Edward Albee , which is one of very few books exploring literary worldviews . She belonged to and served in numerous professional organizations including the Conference on Christianity and Literature, for which she served as Secretary, the Modern Language Association, and National Association of Scholars. Laura’s other publications, lectures, and conference presentations are too numerous to list and included lectures in Eastern Europe and Russia. But her service to God was also carried out locally in varied venues and she served as a strong influence for Christ to many people. She was very dedicated to her family. Outside of her studies and teaching she enjoyed keeping her yard beautiful and decorating her house.

Laura Inez Barge was preceded in death by her parents and a son, Mark Kevin Barge. She is survived by her husband, Charles Richard, her sons Charles David (Yvonne) of Macon and Richard William of Pompano Beach, Florida , her daughter Rebecca Anne Cowan (Micky) of Ridgeland, and by three grandchildren and one great grandchild. She is also survived by her sister, Ann Deavenport Baker and her brother, Earnest W. Deavenport, Jr.

A funeral service is planned for Tuesday, May 23, 2023 at 3:00 p.m. at First Baptist Church, Macon, MS. Interment will follow in Oddfellows Cemetery. Visitation will be held at the church from 1:30 until service time the day of the service. The family requests no flowers, please. Memorials may be made to Lake Forest Ranch, 5326 Lake Forest Rd., Macon MS 39341. Cockrell Funeral Home is honored to be entrusted with arrangements.