Dalton Guy Garner,

A Private Service for Mr. Dalton Guy Garner, Sr., 81, of Booneville, MS is set for Saturday, August 29, 2020, with interment in Jumpertown Cemetery. Born February 11, 1939 in Boonville, MS. Dalton passed from this life on Wednesday, August 26, 2020 at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Booneville. Dalton Garner’s life was spent with his family, his God, and his land. Dalton helped from his childhood operate a dairy farm until 1980, when he transitioned to become a beef farmer until his death in 2020. Mr. Garner graduated Booneville High School in 1957, Northeast Mississippi Community College in 1959, and earned his Bachelor of Science in Dairy Production from Mississippi State University in 1962. Perhaps unsurprisingly, while at Mississippi State he served as the President of MSU Farm House Fraternity. After graduation he returned to Lavaca Acres Farm to become a third-generation owner/operator. Seemingly tireless in his love and work for farming, Mr. Garner worked as a County Agent at Prentiss County Extension Service, a Soil Conservationist at USDA Soil Conservation Service, a manager of Prentiss County Co-Op, Director of Prentiss County Farm Bureau, a member of the Board of Directors of Prentiss County Electric Power Association, Director of Prentiss County Vo-Tech, President of the Mississippi State Alumni Association in Prentiss County, President of the Mississippi Holstein Association. In short, if you were a farmer in Prentiss County and did not encounter Dalton Garner, it was only because you kept just missing him as he juggled the ten thousand hats he wore at any given time. Mr. Garner’s love for farming was eclipsed only by his love for his family and his God. In addition to his work with the Gideons, he served as the Lay Leader of Christ United Methodist Church in Booneville, Mississippi, the Director of Lay Speaking for the New Albany District of Laity, the Associate Lay Leader for the Tupelo-New Albany District, a Sunday School teacher, and volunteered for numerous committees at Christ United Methodist Church. His numerous accomplishments and successes were not without accolades - he had the first Beef Evaluation Station in cooperation with the Extension Service , he was named a Master Dairy Farmer each year from 1964-1977, he was selected as Outstanding Young Farmer for Mississippi, his family was chosen as Mississippi Farm Family of the Year, he received the Outstanding Soil, Air, and Water Award from the Mississippi Wildlife Federation, was given the Outstanding Conservation Award from Woodmen of the World, and received four separate Awards of Merit from the Soil Conservation Service. Though Mr. Dalton appreciated public recognition of his service and effort, his greatest joy was the love and support of his family. His faith was unshakeable, his love was unconditional, and his service was unparalleled. In each aspect of his life, he exhibited the devotion and diligence that inspired others to achieve their own dreams. In living his faith, he drew a family, a church, and a community closer together. Farmers, believers, and friends all respected and loved him. In passing on into the green pastures of his Savior, our own herd is smaller with his loss. Those left to cherish his memory are his wife of 55 years, Connie Sue Young Garner of Booneville; sons, Dalton Guy Garner, Jr. and Hillary Kepple and John Andrew Garner and wife, Amber Alyce Caviness Garner all of Booneville; daughter, Melanie Kaye Garner Spencer and husband Mitchell “Pete” Spencer of Booneville; 8 grandchildren, Brittany Elizabeth Spencer, Daniel Colt Spencer and fiancée Sarah Isbell, Weston Drew Spencer and wife Amber, Mackenzie Logan Garner, Macy Kayden Garner, Dylan Brock Garner, Nicholas Aidan Garner and William Austin Kepple; nephew, David Louis Greene of Maryland; numerous other nieces, nephews, special cousins , other relatives and a host of friends. He is preceded in death by his father, Starlin Guy Garner; mother, Eva Ann Yates Garner; brother, Henry Moore Garner; sister, Frances Carolyn Garner Greene; and his parents-in-law, John Bell Young, Sr. and Gladys Elizabeth Tays Young. Melanie Spencer will deliver the Eulogy and Bro. Billy Joe Young, Bro. Walter Downs, Bro. Bill Beavers and Bro. Ricky Bishop will officiate the service. Honorary pallbearers will be his cousins and The Upper Room Sunday School Class. In Lieu of flowers the families ask that donations be made to Christ United Methodist Church, C/O Angela Mott, 314 Wyninger Road, Booneville, MS. Condolences may be offered at magnoliafuneralhome.net. Magnolia Funeral Home has been honored to serve the family of Mr. Dalton Guy Garner, Sr. https://www.tributeslides.com/tributes/show/B6549WGF73HDMSZM