Mr. James Edward Hooker, 72, died February 21, 2015, at the Jefferson Davis Community Hospital in Prentiss. Services for Mr. Hooker were held February 28 at the South Pleasant Hill MB Church. Pastor Christopher Moore officiated. Interment was in the South Pleasant Hill Cemetery, with Laird Mortuary in charge of arrangements.

Mr. Hooker was the son of the late Houston Hooker and the late Rosa Lee Hawthorne Hooker of Prentiss. At an early age he joined the South Pleasant Hill Church and remained an active and faithful member until his health failed. Mr. Hooker served his Lord and Church as a trustee, member of the male choir, and as a member of the Brotherhood. In addition, Mr. Hooker will be known for the numerous projects on the building and grounds of South Pleasant Hill that made it a better church.

As a young man, Mr. Hooker was reared and educated in the Jefferson Davis County School System, and attended Prentiss Institute prior to graduating with the first class to do so from JE Johnson High School in 1960. Mr. Hooker worked most of his adult life in construction and maintenance for M.O. Speights, Polk Construction and as the custodian for Prentiss Methodist Church, while working for the Town of Prentiss for nearly 20 years.

Mr. Hooker married the former Dorothy Jean Ball of Prentiss. To this union five children were born. Son James Gregory preceded him in death. As a devoted family man, Mr. Hooker was an outstanding provider, who taught and nurtured his children in the importance of work, and set a great example of how to be a loving spouse. Mr. Hooker also shared his love for lawn care with his family by riding his mower over almost all of their lawns from time to time.

Mr. Hooker’s survivors include his wife, Dorothy “Dot” Hooker of Prentiss; two sons, Jamie (Latoya) Hooker of Hattiesburg and Christopher (Stacey) Hooker of Prentiss; two daughters, Rose (Anthony) Wilkerson of Prentiss and LaShicka Hooker of Hattiesburg; two brothers, Houston “Bootsy”(Nina) Hooker, Jr. of Milwaukee, WI, and Teddric (Janice) Walker of Jackson; two sisters, Rose (Rev. Robert) Collins of Byram and Derenda (Jerry) Daniels of Prentiss; two aunts, Elizabeth Martin of Prentiss, and Ruby Hawthorne of Chicago, IL; three sisters-in-law; two brothers-in-law; seven grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and a number of other relatives and friends.