John Edward Sewell, age 88, was born September 10, 1931 in Pontotoc, MS. He passed away November 30, 2019 at North Mississippi Medical Center. He was the third son of Harvey P. and Clair Archer Sewell. He attended Bankhead Elementary School and graduated from Pontotoc High School in 1950. After graduation he worked at Pontotoc Hardware and Gift Shop.
John Edward entered the United States Armed Forces in September, 1952. He served his country as a Sergeant with the Military Police in Seoul, Korea. He was honorably discharged in August , 1954.
On January 16, 1955, he married the former Mary Ellen Cummings of Pontotoc. To this union were born two wonderful children, Jeffery Sewell and Jenna Sewell Patterson.
He was a member of First Baptist Church in Pontotoc where he remained active as long as his health permitted him to attend. He was an ordained deacon, served as Church Training Union Director, and was on several building and renovation committees. John Edward was also very involved in Brotherhood, Upward Basketball, and Children’s and Youth Bible Drills, both on the church and associational levels. He was a very faithful member of the Jimmy Wise Sunday school class. He was a member of the Pontotoc Jaycee Club in the 1970s. He then joined the Pontotoc Civitan Club for a number of years, serving as President and member of the board of directors, as well as receiving recognition for enlisting the most new members. John was a volunteer school greeter in the Pontotoc Elementary and DT Cox Schools where he loved greeting the children early in the morning and wishing them a good day. John worked in construction for many years. He owned and operated Pontotoc Furniture, after working in sales for McClure Furniture. Later, he worked as a salesman for Morgan Tire Company until his retirement in 2006.
He loved spending time with his family, especially his grandchildren.
Survivors include his wife Mary Ellen Sewell, son Jeffery Sewell (Judy), daughter Jenna Sewell Patterson (Mark), and grandchildren Claire Martin (Tyler), Clayton Sewell, Caitlin Patterson, Lyndsay Patterson, as well as a host of other relatives. John was preceded in death by his parents and his 3 brothers, Eugene, Waymon, and Herbert Sewell.
Visitation will be at Browning Funeral Home in Pontotoc, Monday, December 2nd from 5:00-8:00. Services will be held in the sanctuary of First Baptist Church, Pontotoc, at 2:00pm, Tuesday, December 3rd. Dr. Ken Hester and Rev. Jay Stanley will be officiating. Burial will follow at Pontotoc Memorial Gardens. Browning Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Pallbearers will be Barry Carnes, Mark Crenshaw, Terry Cartwright, George Stegall, David Ray, Dr. Steve Montgomery, and Dr. Tommy Mitchell.
Honorary pallbearers include Ray Stark,Toby Winston, Harrol Umfress, and members of the Eddy Taylor Sunday school class. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the First Baptist Church Building Fund or the Pontotoc City Bible Teachers Fund at First Choice Bank, Pontotoc, MS.
