Bobby "Bob" J. Earnest

Bob Earnest Tupelo- Bobby J. "Bob" Earnest died on September 3, 2014 at The North Mississippi Medical Center. He was born on February 21, 1934, in Itawamba County and was the son of Eulus Marcus and Ethel Montgomery Earnest of Golden, Mississippi. Bob graduated from Itawamba Agricultural High School and married his high school sweetheart, Betty Jane Thomas in 1952. They recently celebrated 62 years of marriage. Bob was a founding member of, and deacon at, Fellowship Baptist Church in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He was a member of Calvary Baptist Church in Tupelo since 1973 where he was a deacon, Sunday School teacher and active on many committees. He was the owner of Tupelo Tool & Die until his retirement and then became an active community volunteer. In 2006, Bob was nationally recognized as a Melvin Jones Fellow for Humanitarian Services by the Lions Club International Foundation. Bob is survived by his spouse, Betty Thomas Earnest of Tupelo, and his sons J. David Earnest (Margaret McKell) of Athens, Georgia and Timothy Earnest (Kim McCrea) of Zionsville, Indiana. Bob is also survived by two brothers, Gaddis Earnest and Gary Earnest and one sister, Adoise Parsons. He was preceded in death by his parents; four sons, Paul, Mark, Joel and Michael Earnest and two brothers, Leberon and Johnny Earnest. One of the greatest joys of Bob's life was his seven grandchildren, Chris, Lindsay, Ryan, Robert, Timothy, Katy, James , Ava and his seven great-grandchildren. Bob enjoyed gardening, especially his beautiful roses and a small muscadine vineyard. Friends and family are invited to a visitation 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Friday, September 5, 2014, at the Jefferson Street Chapel of W. E. Pegues Funeral Directors and 10:00 a.m. to service time on Saturday, September 6, 2014 at the church. The funeral will officiated by Dr. Bryant Barnes at Calvary Baptist Church at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, September 6, 2014. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be made to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, 6931 Arlington Road, 2nd floor Bethesda, Maryland 20814 or a charity of their choice.