The descendants of Walter Lee and Emma Wilkerson Petrey met at the Petrey Community Center on Saturday, June 14, for a family reunion.

This was the fifth extended Petrey family reunion organized by Curtis Petrey, the grandson of Walter Lee and Emma and son of Walter Loyce and Susie Petrey, beginning in 1998 and continuing every four years.
There were 66 in attendance, including some guests.
The noon meal was prepared by Perry Petrey, Curtis and Nancy’s son, and the Chicken Shack.

The program began with opening remarks by Jim Jackson and was continued with Curtis leading the group in the pledge of allegiance to the flag, the day being Flag Day.

Nancy Petrey related an interesting family history during the Revolutionary War, focusing on Lewis Fisher from Germany, a Hessian soldier who settled in North Carolina after the war in a German-speaking community and who became the great-grandfather of Walter Lee Petrey.

Curtis continued the program with a story of Luke Petrey, the father of Walter Lee Petrey.

The reunion concluded with group pictures on the front steps of the Community Center.

Walter and Emma had six children, and the families of four were represented at the reunion.

The L.D. Petrey branch was represented by Roy Petrey of Shalimar, Fla., and his son, Drew.

The Walter Loyce Petrey branch was represented by Patsy and Kline Jeffcoat of Petrey, their granddaughters, Ansley, Caroline and Amelia Inlow of Albany, Ga.; William and Neva Petrey of Luverne; Curtis and Nancy Petrey of Petrey and their family, Perry and Liv Petrey, son David of Bay Minette, P.J. and Kelly Petrey of Daphne, Zoe Petrey of Bay Minette; and Jim Petrey, as well as children, Taylor, Hannah, Madeline, and Trey of Woodstock, Ga.

The Myra Petrey Jackson branch was represented by Jack Jackson and guests Mary West of Luverne; Lee and Mac Moncus and Janie Lee of Birmingham; Leslie and Frank Moody of Birmingham; Celia and David Partlow and Jack, Maggie, Beeson and fiancé Stephanie of Tuscaloosa; Sid and Alyson Jackson and Sidney IV, Anna Kate, and Susannah Jackson of Fairhope, Ala.; Jim and Lucy Jackson of Luverne; George and Virginia Lee Jones of Birmingham; and Will and Mary Anna Jackson of Montgomery.

The Emma Lee Petrey Sellers branch was represented by Mary Emma and Loyd Smilie of Montgomery; Lynn Nesbitt of Dothan; and Lucinda and Chip Chappelle of Montgomery; Gilbert and Ethel Sellers Jr. of Ramer; Lee Ann and Rick Runyeon and Rich, Russell, Rex and guest Hannah Taylor of Franklin, Tenn.; and Susan and Paul Windham and Alex, Tyler, Avery, Jackson and guest Wesley Ratliff of Montgomery.