Thurman Boone Jr.
95, Columbia
Funeral services were held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 10, 2018, at Calvary Baptist Church in Columbia for Mr. Thurman Boone Jr., 95, of Columbia, who passed away on Wednesday, Feb. 7, in Collins. Burial followed in Rose Hill Cemetery in Brookhaven, where a private graveside service was held. Bro. Millard Moak officiated at the services. Visitation was held from 4 p.m. until 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 9, at Hathorn Funeral Home.
He was born on Aug. 26, 1922, in Brookhaven and attended Brookhaven High School. After graduation, he attended Copiah Lincoln Junior College where he played tuba in the band. He then moved to Memphis, Tenn., where he worked on the railroad until he enlisted in the Navy in 1942. He was stationed in Jacksonville, Fla., and was deployed from San Diego, Calif., to fight in the Okinawa Campaign in 1945. He returned to Memphis after the war to be honorably discharged from the Navy in 1945. He was proud to be a veteran.
He then returned to Columbia following his discharge and met the love of his life, Sarah Nell Bass Boone. After a brief courtship, the couple was married in 1946. In 1952, he moved his family to Port Arthur, Texas, where he worked for the Gulf Oil Company. In 1963, he moved the family back to Sartinville, where Thurman owned and operated a road supply company until his retirement. In 1990, he and Nell returned to Columbia to care for his mother.
Thurman Boone will be remembered as a man who loved and enjoyed his family and friends. He served his Lord faithfully and actively. He and Nell were charter members of Calvary Baptist church in Columbia. He often served as a photographer for Vacation Bible School and took hundreds of photos of the children attending each summer. He loved camping and was a member of the Mississippi Chapter of Campers on Missions. He hosted many camping events at his camp on the Pearl River. He enjoyed riding Harley Davidson motorcycles into his 80s. He was an avid collector and he had a collection of over 800 donkey figurines. Thurman took thousands of photos of family and friends over decades and developed a vast collection of photo albums, both hard copy and digital.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Thurman Boone Sr. and Bertha Short Boone; one son, Thurman Dale Boone, and one brother, Joseph Eugene Boone.
Survivors include his wife of 71 years, Sarah Nell Boone of Columbia; two sons, Joel Boone (Donna) of Gulfport and Don Boone (Debbie) of Sheridan, Wyo.; five grandchildren, Leslie Boone Jorgenson of Big Sky, Mont., Ethan Doolittle Boone of Sheridan, Wyo., Jonathan Silas Dale Boone of Laramie, Wyo., Brandon Boone of Clinton and Candice Adams of Gluckstadt, and eight great-grandchildren.
Pallbearers were Ethan Doolittle Boone, Jonathan Silas Dale Boone, Brandon Boone, Jimmy Glynn, Calvin Dunaway, Larry Lofton and Tony Bass.
Family and friends may sign an online guestbook at www.hathornfuneralhome.com.
Hathorn Funeral Home was in charge of the arrangements.
