COLUMBUS - Mrs. Jill Diane Cory Minyard, 59, formerly of the Harmony community in Carroll County, MS passed away at her residence in Columbus, MS, Friday, Feb. 6, 2015, following a long illness. Visitation will be from 1 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. at Lowndes Funeral Home with funeral services following at 2:00 p.m. in the Lowndes Funeral Home Chapel, Columbus, MS. A native of Muncie, Ind., she was born July 1, 1955, to Bertha Alice Birt and Paul James Cory. As a child she lived in Orlando, Atlanta, and Washington, D.C. She attended the College of New Rochelle in New York and the University of Maryland, where she pursued a degree in education. In 1979, she enlisted in the U.S. Navy, and served for 20 years, retiring in December 1999, with the rank of Petty Officer Second Class. During her enlistment in the Navy, she served in the 6th and 7th Fleets during Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm, and received the Kuwaiti Freedom Medal. Following her retirement from the Navy, she worked as a senior technician in the precision electronic metrology laboratory for Dyncorp at Columbus Air Force Base until her illness forced her to retire. She was an Episcopalian, and was a member of the Lowndes County Amateur Radio Club and American Legion Post No. 69. She was preceded in death by her parents, and a stepbrother, Ronald Michael Snellings. She is survived by her husband of 26 years, Thomas Minyard of Columbus; two stepdaughters, Jennifer Minyard of Orlando, Fla., and Melanie Wilson and her husband, Scott, of Palm Coast, Fla.; her stepmother, Hortense Cory of Palmyra, Va.; a sister, Belinda Gunn of Windsor, Calif.; two brothers, Richard Cory of Kilmarnock, Va., and Douglas Cory of Hilliard, Ohio; four stepsisters, Pamela King of Middleboro, Mass., Colette Backlund of Lynchburg, Va., Suzanne Willess of Chandler, Ariz., and Margot Gerrity of Buffalo Junction, Va.; and three grandchildren, Caroline Wilson, Annabelle Wilson and Ethan Wilson, all of Palm Coast. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Naval Relief Society, www.nmcrs.org or Girl Scouts of USA Fund Development, P.O. Box 5046, New York, NY 10087-5046.