John Earl AverettArbor Cremation Society Averett took his doctorate from the University of Texas at Austin in biology and held professorships at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and Georgia Southern University, and was a Humboldt Fellow at Heidelberg University. Derek J. BarrowMellie NeSmith Funeral Home CLAXTON — Derek J. Barrow, 54, passed away January 6, 2017, at his home. Melvin Richard BoykinJoiner-Anderson Funeral Home, Screven Chapel Melvin Richard Boykin, 74, of Sylvania, passed away Thursday evening, January 5, 2017, at the Memorial Health University Medical Center.