Floyd Mobley Jr.

Floyd Mobley Jr, 88, of Madison, MS passed away on Friday, May 26, 2023. He was born in November of 1934 to Floyd Mobley Sr and Louise Herron Mobley at Baptist Hospital in Jackson, MS. The family lived in the Meadowbrook area on the edge of Jackson and settled on Meadowbrook Rd in the early 1950s when it was still a gravel road.

His early years were filled with relationships with family members like Rita (Marguerite Constance Rickert), Bobby (Louise Mumpower) and Aaron (an older family friend who took him hunting and fishing on the Pearl River) as well as numerous pets, both strays and family pets like Joe, who was his dog growing up.

He attended Liberty Grove (county school) and graduated from Central High School when the schools were consolidated in his early high school years. Floyd Jr was nick-named Duke in his youth at the Utica Hunting Club south of Vicksburg, and he loved hunting, fishing, and being outdoors. Friends included “Snake” Stilley, Robert Starling, Fletcher Singletary, and Glen Sills (a life-long friend). One of the school’s note-worthy undertakings was a band trip to Mexico. Besides band, he also played baseball, including Legion ball through his high school years and beyond, with a year or two of being a player/coach.

As Floyd Jr grew up, he studied art at Millsaps College and graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi with a degree in advertising, beginning his newspaper career at MS News and Views in the Dale Building (Fondren Corner). He eventually landed at the state-wide office of Electric Power Associations of MS as the Managing Editor of the monthly newspaper, now named Today In Mississippi. At the time of his retirement, his newspaper boasted the largest circulation of any newspaper/magazine in the state. Career highlights include several multi-day interviews and feature stories of Senator John C Stennis as well as routine collaboration with Rose Budd Stevens. He loved traveling the state and meeting the people of Mississippi, especially the working men and women of the EPA member co-ops.

In his personal life, Floyd joined the Jaycees just after college in the late 1950s and found a group of friends here. Not long after, he met Sandra Vaughn on a blind, double-date with her roommate Estelle. The story goes that she thought he was rich because he had a convertible and a boat, but apparently, she overlooked the fact that he was still living at home with his parents. The couple eventually married in 1966, with an engagement ring surprise coming via a box of Cracker Jacks, showing his very sweet and simple sense of humor. Children came in 1967 (Janet) and 1972 (Dennis). Floyd was the reader of the family, and it was his job to read to the kids before bed. She argues that’s about all he did, but that was plenty enough.

As the kids grew, he became the warden of the family, especially with his daughter Janet, who always seemed to push the boundaries. Honestly, she wasn’t very sneaky and didn’t get away with much, not with the warden around. Patrons at the old bowling alley in Jackson, a local hang-out at the time, would attest.

Whether with family and friends, Manhattan Academy, the University of Southern Mississippi, First Christian Church, or with people in the community, including stray dogs and cats (Pedro, Grinner, Louis, Alex), his was a life filled with service to others. This began in the Jaycees where Floyd held leadership positions and continued with helping at the kids’ school (Manhattan) and in youth sports for his son, Dennis, coaching minor league and little league teams.

Much of his free time was spent either at the Deer Camp, at USM Golden Eagle ball games, where the family has been Eagle Club members for 57 years, or spending time with his family. This included family lunches at local places like The Hilton, Vasilio’s, The Ag Museum, Scrooge’s, and Hickory Pit. As he aged, the family grew to include first Sidney Isaiah Mobley and later Christopher Floyd Mobley. He never missed ball games, choir recitals, piano recitals, or anything the children did. He was a fixture. Some of his happiest days on this earth were spent at Alligator Hunting Club riding the 4-wheeler with the boys, with the Pearl River in the distance.

Throughout much of his life, First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) was his main service outlet. A member for 63 years, he served as deacon, elder, treasurer, and moderator. He was instrumental in getting a grave marker erected for one of the former pastors, Reverend Thomas Caskey, at Greenwood Cemetery in Jackson, MS and in helping Pastor John Shearer form an alliance with other Briarwood area churches and other Christian Churches in the greater Jackson area. After First Christian Church closed, he became a member of Grace Primitive Baptist Church in Pearl, MS, joining his wife (a lifelong member of the Primitive Baptist Church).

He was preceded in death by his parents, Floyd Mobley Sr and Louise Herron Mobley, and his 8-year-old grandson, Christopher Floyd Mobley. He leaves behind a wife, Sandra V Mobley, two children, Janet Mobley and Dennis Mobley (Madeline), and his 13-year-old grandson, Sidney. Plus, brothers-in-law Larry Vaughn (Mary), Ron Vaughn (Pat), and the Brown Family.

Visitation will be at Parkway Funeral Home in Ridgeland, MS on Friday, June 2, 2023 from 5:00 to 7:00 pm and Saturday, June 3, 2023 from 9:00 to 10:00 am with the funeral service immediately following in the chapel at 10:00 am. He will be laid to rest at Lakewood Memorial Park in Jackson, MS.

Memorials can be made to:

Grace Primitive Baptist Church

349 Cross Park Dr

Pearl, MS 39208

Southern Christian Services for Children & Youth

4735 Old Canton Road, Suite 111

Jackson, MS 39211

https://www.scscy.org

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.parkwayfuneralhomeridgeland.com for the Mobley family.