House Resolution 52

A RESOLUTION MOURNING THE LOSS AND COMMEMORATING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF MR. JEHU COCKERHAM AND EXPRESSING DEEPEST SYMPATHY TO HIS FAMILY AND FRIENDS UPON HIS PASSING.

WHEREAS, it is written in Ecclesiastes 3:1, "To everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under the Heaven," and as such, the immaculate author and finisher of our soul's destiny summoned the mortal presence of Mr. Jehu Cockerham on March 4, 2016, at the age of 92, to rest eternally, rendering great sorrow and loss to his family and many friends; and

WHEREAS, the State of Mississippi and the Amite County community of Gillsburg, Mississippi, lost a wonderful friend, community leader and man of God with the passing of Mr. Cockerham, who was born on April 25, 1923, as the ninth of eleven children to Mr. George and Mrs. Mary Jane Carter Cockerham; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Cockerham, who professed his faith in Jesus Christ at a young age, joined Pilgrim Rest Missionary Baptist Church at the age of 13 and now enjoys the eternal peace described in Luke 2:29, "Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word"; and

WHEREAS, respectfully known as Deacon Cockerham by his fellow saints of the church, the faithful man of God was ordained as a deacon in 1961 and gave his service to many fine leaders of the Pilgrim Rest Missionary Baptist Church, such as, Reverends Brister, Royal, Lenard Robinson, T.L. Jones, Robert Veals, David Henderson and Preston Davis, Sr., and on October 19, 2008, the church honored him with the Lifelong Achievement for Leadership Within the Community and a Christian Role Model Award; and

WHEREAS, throughout his entire life, Mr. Cockerham was always known as an extremely hard worker, a true value that he and his siblings, Dan, Ida, Mattie, Zellie, Jasper, Georgia, Mary, Robert, Waren and Lillie Mae, learned early in life from farming with their father, whom would wake them up with the sunrise as the rooster crowed to go out and plow the field and sow the crops; and

WHEREAS, in addition to his strong work ethic, Deacon Cockerham's love and affection pierced the heart of Ms. Martha Dillon, and the duo became bone of one another's bone and flesh of one another's flesh after exchanging the vows of holy matrimony on January 22, 1944, and the two soulmates rivaled the stories of great, romantic literary classics with their passionate, selfless love for 41 years and completed their family unit with the addition of eight children, Jessie Mae, Betty Louise, Ethel Mae, Dianne, Oscar Lee, James Michael, Anthony and Marion; and

WHEREAS, driven by his desire to be the breadwinner for his family, Mr. Cockerham was first employed as a logger before he went to work in New Orleans as a Longshoreman for the United Fruit Company where he handled freight and cargo for ten years, and later, when he assumed the role of a factory worker for McMillan Blowdell, he remained at that job until he retired, at the age of 62, in 1985 with about eleven years of service; and

WHEREAS, a loving husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, great-great-grandfather, son, brother and friend, Deacon Jehu Cockerham, through his kind, sincere heart and undeniable energy, touched the lives of all those who crossed his charming path, and his warm hugs and bright smile will be cherished in the hearts and memories of his 20 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren, 6 great-great-grandchildren and other relatives and friends whom knew him and experienced his greatness; and

WHEREAS, we encourage the family to find solace from the overwhelming sadness and grief created by the earthly departure of their beloved family member in Revelation 21:4, wherein is recorded, "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there by any more pain: for the former things are passed away." and they are renewed in their faith that Deacon Cockerham fulfilled life's commandment of II Timothy 4:7 by having fought a good fight, finishing his course and keeping the faith until the hour of his departure was at hand; and

WHEREAS, it is the policy of the House of Representatives to recognize and honor the lives of fine Mississippians, especially those such as Mr. Jehu Cockerham, a man held in the highest regard by his family and friends as an inspiring and precious gift from God who was filled with enormous amounts of wisdom, love and delightful tenderness and enhanced the lives of those around him daily:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That we do hereby mourn the loss and commemorate the life and legacy of Mr. Jehu Cockerham and express deepest sympathy to his family and friends upon his passing.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be furnished to the family of Mr. Jehu Cockerham and to the members of the Capitol Press Corps.