BOONEVILLE – Hezekiah "Harry" Callaway Hamby, 87, passed from this temporary life to eternal Glory with his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on June 1, 2011.

He was born on May 1, 1924, in the Smoky Mountains at Beaver Dam, NC to John Quincy Hamby and Lillie Mae Nelson Hamby. His father died when Harry was only two months old. A house fire followed just a month later, which resulted in him and his siblings being taken in and raised by the Presbyterian Bachman Orphanage in Farner, TN. He learned and always quoted the 23rd Psalm and many other scriptures, even up until his last days. At the age of 17, he volunteered with the Marines and found himself landing and fighting in Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, at the beginning of WWII. He later joined the Air Force. Between his Marine and Air Force service, he was able to travel many parts of the world, including Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and New Guinea. He retired with an honorable discharge after 32 years of combined service to his country. He always stayed positive, and his war stories were almost always of the interesting people he met and places he went, though he did experience death at every side, including a serious bout of malaria.

He helped build and start the Church of God in Tampa, Fla. on Manhattan Ave., where he served as Sunday School Superintendent. Later on, he had a bus ministry in Shalimar, Fla. for the Church of God there and also served as Sunday School Superintendent at the Booneville Church of God.

He was very handsome, with a ready and big smile and was a people-person. His happy-go-lucky personality was a perfect fit in the area of sales for Prudential Insurance and General Motors in Tampa, Fla. After moving to Booneville in the early 1970's, he worked with Liberty National Insurance as well as Produce Manager of Walden's Big Star, H & W and a fireman for the city of Booneville. Always ready for an adventure and eager to learn, he attended NEMCC in his fifties. He was the class clown, always giving his fellow classmates something to laugh about.

Once he retired, he remarried and enjoyed his life in Tishomingo, with his wife, Edna Ruth, growing flowers and gardening, until his fight with colon cancer, which he won.

He loved his children and grandchildren, and is affectionately remembered as someone whose sole purpose in life was to make others smile and one who would spontaneously break out in song.

Though he will be sorely missed, his memory will be cherished forever in our hearts, with every red bird, forget-me-not flowers, bluegrass music, yard sales and big cars with dashboard ornaments that we see and hear.

Booneville Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements, with visitation at the funeral home on Sunday, June 5, 2011, from 1-5 p.m. The funeral will be Monday, June 6, at 11 a.m. at the Booneville Funeral Home Chapel, with Bro. Tracy Arnold officiating. Burial, with military honors, will be in the Corinth National Cemetery.

Survivors include his wife, Edna Ruth Gattis of Tishomingo; four sons, Glenn Hamby (Ann Riddle Bridges) of Burton, Chuck Hamby and Tommy Hamby, of Booneville, and Timothy Hamby (Kerrie Hux) of New Site; two daughters, Linda Pender Thorn (Terry) of Tupelo, and Patricia "Patty" Sample (Mitchell) of Baldwyn; the mother of his children, Evelyn Knight Hamby Moore, of Booneville; one half-brother, Robert Moss of Tacoma, WA; four step-sons, Danny, Larry, Tommy and Dennis Durham, of Tishomingo. His grandchildren, Derick and Jessica Pender, Tricia Agnew and Brian Sample, Bobby Dale and Cody Hamby, Haylee, Timmie and Jade Hamby; three great-grandchildren, Allayah Grace and Amari Agnew and Lee Pender.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his first born, Diana Hamby, of Austin, TX; his brothers, Oliver Hamby, George "Jeff" Hamby, and Thomas Hamby; his sisters, Frieda Craig, Bernice King and little Albee Hamby; a half-brother, Winston Churchill "Mutt" Moss.

Pallbearers will be Derick Pender, Bobby Dale Hamby, Cody Hamby, Brian Sample, Timmie Hamby and Larry Durham.

Read more: NEMS360.com - Obituaries June 5 2011