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- Clarion Ledger, February 25, 2017
Cleo McCormick (1933-2017)
"Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares." Hebrews 13:2.
Cleo McCormick, 83, must have determined that angels (and his friends and family) love fresh fish, homegrown vegetables and fruit, hoop cheese, orange slice candy, and even cash because anyone who ever came into contact with him left with something that he had in his truck or pocket. He was born on June 10, 1933 in Antioch, MS. His father paid the doctor for his delivery in part with a truckload of watermelons, which must have instilled a lifelong perennial need for Cleo to carry them around all summer long in his truck bed. His mother imparted no middle name upon him, which suited his "straight from the horse's mouth" personality but not the IRS who badgered him every year about the lack of it until they finally gave up.
Cleo was a lifelong resident and social fixture of Louin, MS. He could be seen visiting on the bench in front of the Louin grocery all hours of the day in his signature overalls and hat, philosophizing about fishing, gardening, and the "crazy people" in the world. He took a weekly pilgrimage to Lake Albermarle to terrorize the white perch and was also an unofficial spokesperson for the canned sardine and vienna sausage industries.
An all-star basketball and football player at Bay Springs High School, Cleo caught the eye of Gloria Faye Bassett at a skating rink. They married on February 16, 1953 and traveled all across the USA working on the pipeline. His work ethic became legendary when he cleared 80 acres of land with a small axe. He started his own successful business in 1970, providing not only quality waterline construction all across Mississippi but also an iconic and much-coveted Cleo McCormick, Inc. cap. Cleo was saved and baptized in 1959 and is a member of Louin Baptist Church. He believed that sermons and meal blessings should be like his physical stature: short and to the point. Many pre-supper festivities were interrupted loudly by his faithful prayer opening of "Thank ya' precious Jesus for lovin' us and bein' so good to us." He also impressed upon all his grandchildren the value of never refusing a gift from anyone even if presented with a sack of something unpleasant because "the next sack might be full of gold!"
Cleo fired up his tin lizzy to God's pond on February 23, 2017. He is preceded in death by his parents, Joseph B. McCormick and Laura Vernice Hendry McCormick, brother Billy Joe McCormick, sister Ione Sims, and daughter-in-law Lanae McCormick.
Survivors include his sweetheart of 64 years, Faye Bassett McCormick, Louin, MS; daughter Debbo Pugh (Ray), Louin, MS; son Dr. Eric Cleo McCormick, Bay Springs, MS; grandchildren, Emily Tingle (John), Claire Mayatte (Shaun), Alice McCormick, Laura Dixon (Mason), Caroline McCormick; great-grandchildren Audrey Mayatte, Paige Mayatte, Amelia Tingle, Ben Tingle; brother Hill McCormick, Bay Springs.
Visitation will be held Friday, February 24, 2017 from 5:00 PM until 8:00 PM
at Colonial Chapel Funeral Home in Bay Springs. Funeral services will be held Saturday, February 25, 2017 at 11:00 AM at Louin Baptist Church in Louin. Burial will follow in Louin Cemetery. Rev. Billy Burtt and Rev. Hal Ethridge will officiate. Colonial Chapel Funeral Home of Bay Springs is in charge of arrangements (601) 764-2181.
The family would like to thank his longtime doctors for their excellent care: Dr. Harper Stone, Dr. Robert Evans, and Dr. Anne Whitehurst.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to the American Diabetes Association or the American Heart Association or charitof of choice. Or just bless a stranger with an unexpected gift.
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