Thomas Jerrell McDaniel, of Columbia, Mississippi, passed away peacefully at his home, on Tuesday, May 27, 2025, at the age of 83. Jerrell was born in Columbia, January 15, 1942 to Bardie and Vera McDaniel and has remained a lifelong resident of Columbia. He graduated from Columbia High School where he was voted Most Handsome his senior year and Most Valuable player in football as he was a fierce player on the field. Following high school, Jerrell served his country in the U.S. Army and was stationed in Kaiserslautern, Germany where his duty was a cryptographer. Upon being honorably discharged, he returned home to work with his father in the home building business. When his dad retired, Jerrell continued in his dad’s footsteps building many homes in the Columbia area. He was married to Susie McDaniel and they had six children. Having five sons and one daughter, Jerrell attended numerous ball games and enjoyed every one of them. He also had a love for the outdoors. There are fond memories of weekend trips with his children and friends to Red Bluff and Sand Mountain “Bradley Swamp,” where they searched for arrowheads and various types of rock. Jerrell had an outstanding collection of arrowheads and Indian artifacts. Fishing was also one of his passions. He will be sadly missed by his family and friends.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a brother, David Wayne McDaniel. Jerrell is survived by a daughter, Suzanne McDaniel; five sons, Scotty (April) McDaniel, Mark McDaniel, Jered (Hope) McDaniel, John Dale McDaniel, and Lee "Scoot" McDaniel; a sister, Wanda Morgan; five grandchildren, Catherine McDaniel, Mac McDaniel, Lauren McDaniel, Eli McDaniel, and Zac Dalati; a niece, Sharon Morgan; and three nephews, Mike Morgan, Kirk Morgan, and Chris Morgan.
There will be a visitation for Jerrell at Colonial Funeral Home on Tuesday, June 3, 2025 from 12:30pm until 1:30pm. The funeral service will follow at the graveside in Woodlawn cemetery at 2:00pm. Zac Dalati, Eli McDaniel, Mac McDaniel, Drew McDaniel, Josh Haney, Daniel Clark, and Ralph Franks will serve as pallbearers.
