JDC Investigator John Wayne Tolar laid to rest
Published 9:55 am Wednesday, June 7, 2023
Holley Cochran / The Prentiss Headlight—Jefferson Davis County Investigator John Wayne Tolar is taken by the Jefferson Davis County Courthouse where he spent decades serving the residents of the county. Leading the way is his son, Jeremy, in Tolar's first patrol car he used as Jefferson Davis County Constable in the 1980s.
The Prentiss Headlight—The Copiah County Color Guard performed the 21-gun salute and the playing of Taps at Society Hill Cemetery following Tolar's funeral.
Jefferson Davis County Investigator John Wayne Tolar was laid to rest Saturday morning. Tolar died May 28 in Columbia after a brief illness.
Tolar’s funeral processional left Colonial Funeral Home in Columbia traveling to Jefferson Davis County Middle School in Prentiss for his funeral before proceeding to Society Hill Cemetery for burial. Tolar’s son Jeremy traveled in front in Tolar’s first patrol car he used when he was Jefferson Davis County Constable in the 80s. Law enforcement officers from many counties across the state took part in the service. The Copiah County Color Guard performed the 21-gun salute and the playing of Taps.
Tolar was an investigator with the JDC Sheriff’s Department since 2012. He was hired by current Jefferson Davis County Sheriff Ron Strickland when he began his tenure.
Tolar also served Jefferson Davis County as Constable for four terms from 1980 until 1996.
He worked for the Columbia Police Department as a patrolman for several decades and in 2009, the Columbia Board of Aldermen named Tolar the interim police chief. He served in that position for five months before retiring from the Columbia Police Department in November 2010.
