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 in Collins Municipal Cemetery in Collins under the direction of Laird Funeral Home.

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

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

He graduated from Collins High School in 1968. He enlisted into U.S. Marine Corps from 1968 until honorably discharged in 1970. He received his bachelors of science degree in business administration from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1979.

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, weekly bridge games and caring for his beloved pets, Sampson and Delilah.

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 fiance´, Jerry McFarlane 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, Cary, Grady and Scott Gunn, Alex and Will Dent and Matthew Aldridge; four nieces, Elena Roye Dent, Lee Dent, Ashley and Amber Aldridge; and a number of cousins and friends.

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

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

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.