R. Peary Lomax

Rhea Peary Lomax, Jr. died May 9, 2011, at Forrest General Hospital in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. He was born on September 11, 1947, in Laurel, Mississippi, the son of the late Rhea Peary Lomax, Sr. and Lois Martin Lomax. Peary attended Laurel public schools and graduated from R.H. Watkins High School. He was a graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi with a bachelor’s degree in political science and completed academic studies for a master’s degree, also in political science. He married Brenda Shoemake of Petal in 1970 and entered business life in Laurel at Lomax Printers and Stationers. He became president and CEO of the company on the death of his parents in 1993. He received numerous Awards of Merit from the Printing Association of the South. He was named Outstanding Young Man of Jones County by the Laurel Jaycees and has been listed in Outstanding Young Men in America. He was past president of the Sertoma Club, past president of the Downtown Merchants Association, and a member of the Laurel Kiwanis Club. He was a master Mason and past master of Lodge # 503. He was Phi Kappa chapter Dad for several years and also worked with the high school DECA program. He had an extreme interest in helping young people. A lifetime love of music and the outdoors defined him, and he added cooking to that repertory as he grew older. Peary was an original member – the trumpet player – of the Crackerjacks, a rock band in the 1960s that rocked throughout the Southeast. He loved the out of doors – canoeing, climbing, camping, exploring – and learned the history and legends of the wilderness areas in the deep South. A man who never met a stranger, Peary will be remembered for his sense of humor, his story telling and his caring and kindness toward others. He was a Christian, who had a close relationship with his God. He leaves his former wife, Brenda; two sisters, Mimi Lomax Cox of Jonesboro, Arkansas and Becky Lomax Weicks of Chiang Mai, Thailand; a host of nieces and nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews and cousins; and friends too numerous to count. Memorial Services will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 21, at Memory Chapel in Laurel. Visitation with Peary's family will take place from 12:30 p.m. until the time of the Memorial Service at 2 p.m. In lieu of flowers, lasting memorials may be made in Peary’s name to the Forrest General Healthcare Foundation, P.O. Box 19010, Hattiesburg, MS 39404 or to a charity of your choice.

R. Peary Lomax

September 11, 1947 - May 9, 2011