James Thomas Dent

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Aug. 9, 1950 – March 23, 2014

NATCHEZ — Services for James “Jim” Thomas Dent, 63, of Natchez, who died Sunday, March 23, 2014, at Natchez Community Hospital, will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at First Presbyterian Church with the Rev. Noelle Read and the Rev. Denny Read officiating.

Burial will follow be at 3:30 p.m. Thursday at Collins Municipal Cemetery in Collins under the direction of Laird Funeral Home.

Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at the funeral home and from 10 a.m. until service Thursday at the church.

Mr. Dent was born Aug. 9, 1950, the son of William Wilkerson Dent and Girdelle Smith Dent.

He graduated from Collins High School in 1968 and received his bachelors of science degree in business administration from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1979. He served in the U.S. Marine Corp. during the Vietnam War.

He worked in the oil field supply industry throughout Louisiana and Mississippi for more than 25 years. After he retired in 1998, he became a supporter of the First Presbyterian Church Mission and attended missions in Haiti, Brazil and Guatemala.

He was an avid New Orleans Saints fan. He loved to play dominoes and Yahtzee with his brothers, cousins, children, nieces and nephews. His favorite retired past times were his Tuesday morning coffee club, Men’s prayer breakfast and weekly bridge games.

He will be surely missed by all that knew him.

Mr. Dent was preceded in death by his parents.

Survivors include his wife, Dana M. Dent; one son, Thomas Christopher Dent of Tampa; two daughters, U.S. Navy Lt. Heather S. Dent of Albany, N.Y. and Jamie L. Dent and fiancee´, Jerry MacFarlane of Tampa; two brothers, George Dent and wife, Wanda of Tupelo and Dr. William W. Dent and wife, Ann of Panama City, Fla.; one sister, Mary D. Gunn and husband, Larry of Hattiesburg; six nephews, Gary, Grady and Scott Gunn, Alex and Will Dent and Matthew Aldridge; four nieces, Ashley and Amber Aldridge, Elena and Lee Dent; and a number of cousins and friends.

Pallbearers will be Richard Whitney, Anthony Tuccio, Alex Dent, Will Dent, Ralph LeMay and Dede Dees.

Honorary pallbearers will be his special friends, members of the Tuesday morning men’s prayer breakfast, members of the Tuesday morning coffee club, Charles Byrnes, George Bates, Bryant Reed, Fleet Jones, Eddie Sonjay, Dede Dees, Robert Dunn and Buddy Rhodes.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the First Presbyterian Church Missions Fund which focuses on several missions including prison ministry, medical care and construction teams to Haiti, Brazil and Guatemala.

Please visit the mission page at fpcnatchez.org/index.php/mission/presbytery-mission/ for more information or mail your donation to First Presbyterian Church 400 State St. Natchez, MS 39120.

Online condolences may be made to lairdfh.com.