March 21, 1937 – May 2, 2019

NATCHEZ — A memorial service for George Marion Dickens Sr., 82, of Natchez, who died Thursday, May 2, 2019, will be 11 a.m. Monday at Trinity Episcopal Church, 305 South Commerce St. in Natchez. 

The family will greet guests during the visitation from 10 a.m. until service time in Parish Hall at the church.

Arrangements are under the direction of Laird Funeral Home.

Mr. Dickens was born on March 21, 1937, in Leslie, Ark., the son of Judson Marion Dickens and Helen Main Dickens. 

He attended Fordyce High School in Fordyce, Ark., where he was a three-sport letterman and went on to receive his undergraduate degree in Business Administration at Hendrix College in Conway, Ark.  While attending Hendrix College, he was a three-year starter for the basketball team.  George also received a master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Ark.

Prior to working in the business sector, he taught at Kentucky Wesleyan College and the University of Tennessee – Nashville.  In his long career, George held multiple executive positions at Wilsonart, Georgia-Pacific, Permaneer Corporation, and O’Sullivan Industries before starting his own business, Dickens Associates in 1978.  He also founded and operated Moss Dickens and Fordyce Corporation.  Dickens was a consummate professional and during his 53-year career, he touched many people’s lives.   His sincerity, combined with a natural empathy for others, made him a man of great approachability and a person many felt at ease to seek his personal counsel.

Dicken’s interests included, first and foremost, his family, golf, tennis, and travel.  He was an active member of Trinity Episcopal Church serving on the Vestry and acting as the senior warden for multiple terms. 

Dickens was preceded in death by his loving parents.

Survivors include his beloved wife of 58 years, Patricia Rinehart Dickens; one son, George Marion Dickens Jr. and wife, Jill; two daughters, Elizabeth Dickens Luther and husband, Stephen, Laura Dickens Walsh and husband, Bradley; and nine grandchildren, Caroline Dickens Wilbur and husband, Max, Audrey St. Pierre Dickens, Cole Augustus Greenfield, Kelly Nichols Greenfield, Judson Powell Luther, Allison Dickens Luther, Alexandra Main Walsh, Isabelle Rinehart Walsh and Augusta Dickens Walsh.  George is also survived by his cousins, John Warren Dickens and wife, Gy, John Warren Dickens, Jr. and wife, Brenda, and Derek Arnold Dickens and wife, Martha.

Family, friends and others, whose lives George touched, are invited to the family residence for a reception immediately following the service at 136 Duster Drive in Natchez.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in George’s name to the Fordyce High School Athletic Department at FSD Athletics, P.O. Box 706, Fordyce, AK 71742.

Online condolences may be sent to the family at lairdfh.com.