James Brooks Sowell

James Brooks Sowell ( known to many as Jimmy) was born in 1945 and grew up on a farm in north Mississippi as the youngest of 5 sons of Jessie Madison and Mary Inez Sowell. As the son of a sharecropper, he learned the value of hard work. He had many aunts, uncles and cousins that he loved visiting. He graduated from Independence high school in 1962 and worked at Chromcraft furniture in Senatobia, MS before entering the army. He served in the US Army from 1965-1968, spending 26 months at an army hospital in Japan. He assisted the hospital registrar with statistical records and patient inquiries from families, government agencies, and congressional offices on soldiers evacuated from Vietnam. When he got back from the Army, he married the love of his life, Donna Anderson in December 1968,

He worked for Cook industries in Memphis in computer operations, 1969-1973. In 1973 FedEx acquired Cook’s computing assets and he was hired as a manager in the production control group. He worked for FedEx from 1973 to 2007 retiring as vp of information systems operations department. He made many lifelong friends during his career and cherished each one. His favorite pastime was helping and spending time with his family, especially his kids and grandkids whom he loved very much. Keep Donna Sowell, Angela (Sowell) Nettles, Tina (Sowell) White, and Bryan Sowell in your hearts as they miss Jimmy very much and reminisce on all the great times they had as he was a great father and husband. Keep Allen White , Tim Nettles and Christine Hoober in your hearts as they miss a great father-in-law. Keep Olivia, Charlotte, Arin, Samantha, Isabella, Henry and Tyler as they miss their Papaw and Pa very much.