Obituaries

LAWRENCE ANDREW RAINEY SR., 79, a former county sheriff whose acquittal in the murders of three civil rights workers was chronicled in the movie Mississippi Burning, died Friday in Meridian, Miss. As Neshoba County sheriff, he was charged with civil rights violations for allegedly conspiring to kill James Earl Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner in 1964 during Mississippi's turbulent "Freedom Summer," when hundreds of volunteers scoured the state to register black voters. He was acquitted. Seven Ku Klux Klan members, including Chief Deputy Cecil Price, were convicted of federal civil rights violations in the deaths and sentenced to prison terms ranging from three to 10 years.

CHARLES MOUNT, 60, who designed nearly 300 restaurants, including the recently opened behemoth McDonald's near Times Square in New York City, died Friday in Mattituck, N.Y. The McDonald's near Times Square is a 17,500-square-foot triplex that uses authentic theatrical lighting fixtures. It also features plasma televisions and Broadway memorabilia.

VINNETTE CARROLL, 80, a director, actor and playwright who created the Broadway musical Your Arms Too Short To Box With God, died Nov. 5 in Lauderhill. The show, an adaptation of the Gospel of St. Matthew, conceived and directed by Ms. Carroll, appeared on Broadway three times, including a 1982 production starring Patti LaBelle. Ms. Carroll was the first black woman to direct on Broadway and the first black woman to bring gospel music to Broadway.

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