Services for Jack Kenneth Lishman, Sr. of Leflore, will be 1 p.m. Wednesday, January 24, 2024 at Wilson and Knight Funeral Home in Greenwood, Mississippi, with visitation from 11 a.m. until service time.

Mr. Lishman, 82, died in his sleep during the early morning of Thursday, January 18, 2024.

He was born October 27, 1941 to the late T.F. Lishman and Berdie Rivers Lishman in Avalon.  He was preceded in death by his two brothers, Bobby Charles Lishman of Merigold, and Dewey W. "Bud" Lishman, Sr. of Avalon.

He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Jenell Everett Lishman of Leflore; his son, Jack Kenneth Lishman, Jr. of Leflore; his daughter, Lisa Lishman Reynolds (Billy) of Kalamazoo, MI; three grandchildren, Eli Lishman Reynolds, Huck Everett Reynolds, and Delilah Ray Reynolds, all of Kalamazoo, MI; and a sister, Dorothy Elaine Wixon of Avalon, MS.

He was a member of Valley Hill Baptist Church, where he served as a deacon.  As a young man, he measured land for the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service (ASCS).  He later farmed in Grenada, Carroll, and Leflore counties and worked for the USDA Boll Weevil Eradication Program in the 1990's.  Not content to sit at home after he retired from farming, he was the office manager for Aviation Flying Services in Schlater from 2012 until his passing.

He was well-loved and respected by all who knew him, from his daily "coffee club" meetings at McDonald's, to his interactions with farmers and his co-workers at Aviation Flying Services, who became his second family and lovingly referred to him as "Air Boss."

He spent a lifetime working and walking the land, and he particularly enjoyed the areas around Potacocowa Creek near his home.  He often said the land was "in his blood" and taught his daughter to love nature and history, spending many hours with her exploring the Malmaison nature preserve, fishing, and looking for arrowheads and potshards in his fields after a rain.  He also loved his bluebirds and purple martins and had great success attracting them to the houses he made for them.

Above all, he was a patient, loving, and good-natured father and husband, with a close and caring bond to his special-needs son, Jack Jr.

Rev. Everett Welch will officiate the funeral service with interment in Holcomb Cemetery.

Pallbearers will be Bo Prestige, Mac McNeer, Billy Stinson, Doug Muse, Baylor Bryant, and Goonie Carpenter.  Honorary Pallbearers will be Eli Reynolds, Huck Reynolds, Newgen Brock, James Parker, Pete Palmore, and all of the staff at Aviation Flying Services, as well as the deacons of Valley Hill Baptist Church.

Memorials may be made to Beacon Harbor or Valley Hill Baptist Church.