Supervisors on Wednesday named the widow of District 2 Supervisor Charles E. Culpepper as interim supervisor until a special election can be held next November to fill Culpepper’s unexpired term.

Supervisor and board president Anthony Hales named Joyce Culpepper as interim supervisor for District 2 after polling all three other supervisors who “confirmed” the appointment, said Adrain Lumpkin, county administrator.

Supervisors are expected to vote in favor of the appointment on Monday at their regularly scheduled December meeting, thus making her appointment on Wednesday official.

Supervisors followed the same procedure when in 2005 Supervisor Troy Stockstill died in office and the board then appointed his widow, Betty Stockstill, as supervisor.

Joyce Culpepper will serve until a special election is held in conjunction with the regularly scheduled Congressional elections next November to fill Culpepper’s unexpired term.

She can run for the office, too, then, if she so chooses.

Charles Culpepper was buried last Friday after dying on Nov. 23 at his residence in the Ford’s Creek Community. He was battling pancreatic cancer. He was 59. Services were held at the Ford’s Creek Baptist Church.

Culpepper was one year and 10 months into his first term as supervisor when he died. He was elected in November 2007 after working in the county road department for 19 years. He was sworn in January 2008. He was well-liked and well-respected by all of his associates.

When he died Hales said, “He had a wealth of knowledge about county government. We will miss him. Our condolences go out to his family at this time of grief.”

Culpepper wanted to run for supervisor for a long time but refused to run against a setting supervisor while he worked for the county. When District 2 Supervisor Danny Wise decided not to run last time, it paved the way for Culpepper and he announced his candidacy for the District 2 post.

During the campaign, he told voters he wanted to bring back “pride and unity” to the county and promised he would not vote at any time for increased taxes.

He beat out six other candidates to face a Democrat in the general election in November 2007. He beat Democrat opponent Joseph “Josey” Russell Tynes by a two-to-one margin. Culpepper ran as a Republican.

He was a life-long resident of Pearl River County, having been born here on Aug. 7, 1950, to the late Ocon and Eddie Lewis-Culpepper.

When he ran for supervisor, he was assistant county road manager.

Culpepper was a member of the Ford’s Creek Baptist Church, and was buried in the Ford’s Creek Baptist Church Cemetery.