VICKSBURG, Miss. (AP) — The Rev. Herman "Preacher" Dennis, who turned a Mississippi Delta grocery store into a folk-art castle that became a roadside attraction, has died. He was 96.
Jefferson Funeral Home in Vicksburg said he died Tuesday. The Vicksburg Post reports (http://bit.ly/QfH8VL) Dennis died at Covenant Health and Rehab.
Margaret's Grocery started as a modest store off U.S. Highway 61. Margaret Rogers Dennis had owned it nearly 40 years when she married "Preacher" in 1984, and he said he'd build a monument to her and their faith in God.
During the 1980s and '90s, the couple used concrete blocks, foam balls and other common items to turn the store into a castle. Hand-painted signs displayed phrases about the Bible. Though deteriorated, it was still standing this summer.
Margaret died in 2009.
