Jimmy Wesley Holifield

Funeral services for Jimmy Wesley Holifield will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, May 6 at Poplar Creek Nations Baptist Church near Kilmichael, with burial following in the church cemetery. Rev. Ben Hill will officiate the service. Pallbearers will be Wesley Holifield, Jonathan Holifield, David Holifield, Andrew Holifield, Stephen Holifield, Christopher Holifield, Alan Dukes, and Chaz Ayton. Honorary pallbearers will be the deacon body of Poplar Creek Nations Baptist Church.

Visitation will be Tuesday, May 5 from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. at Oliver Funeral Home; and Wednesday, May 6 from 9:00 a.m. until service time at Poplar Creek Nations Baptist Church near Kilmichael.

Jimmy Wesley Holifield, aged 99, took his final breath on Earth and went to meet his Lord and Savior in Heaven on May 3, 2026 at Ridgeland Place in Ridgeland, Mississippi. He had lived there since September of 2024.

Jimmy was born on October 31, 1926 in Cohay, Mississippi to Lula Mayfield Holifield and John Wesley Holifield. Jimmy’s early years were spent working with local farmers after school in west Jones County to raise watermelons and cotton to supplement the family income. He moved to Bethesda, Maryland with his parents in 1942 and worked at the Department of the Navy in Washington DC as a mail clerk until he relocated to Vicksburg, Mississippi in 1943 where he enrolled in High School and began working at F. W. Woolworth after school.

On January 4, 1944 Jimmy joined the United States Naval Service at the age of 17 which required parental signature. He boarded a bus to Canton, Mississippi where his parents lived at the time to obtain their signatures. He completed basic training in San Diego, California and spent his entire stent of duty on the USS Natrona as a Gunner’s Mate 2nd Class receiving several military honors including: Victory Ribbon, Asiatic Pacific 2 stars, Philippine Liberation 1 star, American Theater, and Amphibian Insignia. He was honorably discharged from the Navy in May of 1946. He returned to Canton, Mississippi where he met (at Center Terrace Baptist Church) and married his wife of 67 years, Mary Frances (Tassie) Toler. They built their first home in Canton and raised three children.

He began employment with International Paper Company in 1946. He worked in Canton, Mississippi; Natchez, Mississippi; Forest, Mississippi, and retired from Wiggins, Mississippi in 1985. While living in Canton, Mississippi he was instrumental in organizing Troop 49 of Boy Scouts of America and for many years led dozens of young men to become Eagle Scouts. He worked with Scouts at Camp Kickapoo each summer and traveled with troops to Philmont, New Mexico to hike several times. He took a troop to New York City’s World’s Fair in 1964, to the National Jamboree at Farragut State Park in northern Idaho in 1969 and led a troop to the 13th World Boy Scouts of America Jamboree on the slopes of Mount Fuji near Tokyo, Japan in 1971. He was awarded the Silver Beaver Award in 1967, the highest honor a volunteer in scouting can receive, recognizing his distinguished service to youth. He took pleasure in the lifelong friendships formed with the young men of Boy Scouts of America. His hobby for many years was woodwork which included whittling, wood turning and wood carving of chains and charms. He was involved in the early community that ultimately formed The Craftsmen’s Guild of Mississippi in 1973.

After his retirement he lived the last 40 years of his life near Kilmichael, Mississippi on 26 acres of land. One of his greatest joys during that time was working a two acre garden growing vegetables that he generously shared with family and friends with a focus on sharing with elderly in the community. He was a faithful member of Poplar Creek Nations Baptist Church for 40 years. He served there as a deacon and Sunday School teacher. He was a man of service as he strived to live his life being the arms and legs of Jesus.

Jimmy was preceded in death by his wife of 67 years, Mary Frances (Tassie) Holifield and his wife of 8 years, Beulah Holifield. He was also preceded in death by all of his siblings: Zella King (Tommy), Zoe Wilson (Fred), Lawrence Holifield (Dorothy), Shirley Marsalis (Luther), Odell Holifield (Bonnie) and Don Holifield (Nancy).

Jimmy is survived by his loving children: Ken Holifield (Shirley) of Kilmichael, Mississippi; Diane Holifield Dukes (Joe) of Madison, Mississippi; and Glenn Holifield (Becky) of Kilmichael, Mississippi. Jimmy’s grandchildren include: Stephen Holifield (Stephanie), Christopher Holifield, Kimberly Burchfield (Chester), Alan Dukes (Rebecca), Mary Frances Dukes (Chaz Ayton), Wesley Holifield (Nikki), Jonathan Holifield (Kristen), David Holifield (Mary Grace) and Andrew Holifield (Brandy). Jimmy has been blessed with seventeen great-grandchildren and a host of beloved nieces and nephews. Jimmy leaves behind many friends including a special friend he made at Ridgeland Place, Madge Owens.

The family gratefully acknowledges the staff at Ridgeland Place and Heart of Hospice for the care provided during his final season. We would also like to thank Dr. Keith Rushing for his many decades of devotion.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to The MIND Center, UMMC Development Accounting, 2500 N. State St., Jackson, MS 39216, or online at www.umc.edu; Alzheimer’s Foundation of America, 322 8th Avenue, 16th Floor, New York, NY 10001, or online at www.alzfdn.org/donate/; The Gideons International, P.O. Box 140800, Nashville, TN 37214, or online www.gideons.org/donate.