CHARLESTON — Douglas Neil McCord surrendered to his battle with cancer on Sunday, April 20.
A graveside service was held 11 a.m. at Corinth Baptist Church Cemetery Wednesday, April 23, with Brother Larry Livingston officiating. Born October 2, 1937, in Paynes, Mississippi, to Louis and Jessie McCord, Douglas enjoyed 87 years of life.
Growing up, he assisted in his father's small store in Paynes, where he developed a lifelong passion for operating a slot machine. Douglas graduated from East Tallahatchie High School in 1955, earning letters in both football and baseball. He received a baseball scholarship to Northwest Mississippi Junior College, but an injury cut his playing career short, bringing him back home.
He married his beloved Bessie Rae Holland and served honorably in the National Guard from 1960 to 1963, all the while working at McQuay in Grenada and managing a small family farm. In 1961, while Douglas was in basic training at Fort Polk, Louisiana, Bessie Rae gave birth to their first child, whom Douglas proudly named Angela Joy. The couple welcomed their second child, Doug Jr., in 1966. By the early 1970s, Douglas had acquired a few cows and fully embraced farming. An avid outdoorsman, he loved bird, squirrel, and duck hunting, and later took up crappie fishing, spending countless hours at Enid and Grenada Lakes, where he was familiar with all the best fishing spots.
Douglas was preceded in death by his parents and two sisters, Jamie Bryant Manuel (Erroll) and Jean McCord Smith (Paul).
He is survived by his sister, Peggy Dixon (John) of Tippo; his brother, Charles McCord (Ann) of Murphreesboro; his daughter and son, Angie Cossar (Bill) of Teasdale and Doug McCord of Murphreesboro; three grandchildren, Addie Mitchell (Hayes), Lanee Middleton (Trevor), and Mason McCord; as well as seven great-grandchildren, Kinsley, Addison, Mattie Grace, Hayden, Wyatt, and Michael Mitchell, along with the newest family member, Colter Middleton. He also leaves behind a host of nieces and nephews.
He was carried to his final resting place by a special group of men who loved him just as he was - Briggs Brasher, Houston Brasher, Seburn Brasher, Jimmy Fly, Bryan Heafner, Jerry McCord, Terry McCord, Eli Melton, Eddie Reynolds, and Will Reynolds.
