James Garvin “Jim” Wiginton, Jr. went home to be with his Lord and Savior on November 15, 2018. He was born on September 7, 1925, near Ripley, Mississippi to James Garvin and Inez Bailey Wiginton. He was the second oldest child of four. He is preceded in death by his parents and siblings, Hildred, Avisteen and Lamar, and father-in-law and mother-in-law: Robert and Nellie Patton.
He grew up in Alcorn County near Glen. Because his father was very ill, Jim had to accept many adult responsibilities as a child. He graduated from Glen High School in 1943 and proved to be a bright student and excellent basketball player.
He began his career at Sears, Roebuck & Company in 1943 at the Memphis plant, where he later met the love of his life, Mae Patton.
They were married December 23, 1954. He was promoted to store manager in Kosciusko, MS, and managed stores in many towns throughout the state. He came to the Corinth store in 1972, where he retired in 1987 after 43 ½ years of service.
Jim was a loving and devoted husband and father. As a family, we enjoyed many fun vacations and trips to family events and especially loved following Tupelo High School basketball.
Jim was known as an outstanding and outspoken leader who demonstrated a friendly demeanor while being fiercely competitive as a businessman. He never met a stranger and had many friends in the community. He enjoyed gardening and walking in the city park. At the age of 88, he was the first person to walk the entire 44 miles of Tanglefoot Trail from New Albany to Houston, MS in the span of four days.
Surprisingly, although a faithful church member, Jim realized that he did not have a personal relationship with Christ, and at the age of 49, accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. His life was never the same. (Ephesians 2:8,9)
Jim is survived by his wife, Mae Patton Wiginton, two children, Gail (Brad) Mariage of Houston, Texas, and James Garvin “Jim” (Cynthia) Wiginton III of Greenville, South Carolina. He is also survived by seven grandchildren: Drew Mariage, Blake Mariage, James Wiginton IV(Natalia), Paiton Wiginton (Kylie), Clay Wiginton (Lavonne), Tori Wiginton and Haddon Wiginton. He is survived by one great granddaughter, Evangelina Wiginton, as well as loving nieces and nephews.
The family will receive visitors at Magnolia Funeral Home, 2024 Hwy 72, Corinth, on
November 18, 2018 from 5:00 to 8:00 PM. A celebration of his life will take place at 1:00pm on November 19 at Magnolia Funeral Chapel with Pastor Donald Sculley officiating.
A graveside service will follow at Liberty Hill Cemetery in Glen, MS.
We would like to thank the staff at West Clinic (Dr. Nasir), Dr. Timothy Noyes, Magnolia Hospice and the caring staff of Right at Home. We are grateful for the support from our dear neighbors, friends and members of Grace Bible Baptist Church.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be sent to the “Missions Fund” at Grace Bible Baptist Church, P.O. Box 808, Corinth, MS, 38835.
To express online condolences for the family visit www.magnoliafuneralhome.net