Thomas Joseph Bufkin

Thomas Joseph Bufkin passed away on Sunday, November 5, 2017. He was 69.

Visitation will be held at Parkway Funeral Home on Highland Colony Parkway in Ridgeland, Mississippi, on Tuesday, November 7, 2017, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. A burial service will be held for family and close friends on Wednesday, November 8, 2017, at 11:00 a.m. at Antioch Baptist Church located at 4088 Antioch Road, Hazlehurst, Mississippi.

Tommy was born in Clinton, Mississippi, on January 5, 1948, to Otis and Anne Bufkin. He was raised in Clinton, played strong safety for the Arrows, and graduated from Mississippi State University where he was a member of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. Tommy served proudly in the Army National Guard, where he was named outstanding basic infantry trainee at Fort Ord, California. Always athletic, Tommy was a long-time MHSAA football referee and had the privilege of officiating several state championship games. Like his father before him, Tommy spent his entire career with State Farm Insurance serving as an agent with the Company for over 40 years.

Tommy is best remembered for his warm heart and engaging personality. He had innumerable friends, some very close and others merely acquaintances, but all seemed to genuinely connect with Tommy. He truly was welcomed and appreciated wherever he went, whether for his good humor in the duck blind, his loving support of his grandkids at football and baseball games, or behind-the-scenes in the business of politics. He will be missed by his family and many friends.

Tommy is preceded in death by his parents Edward Otis Bufkin and Anne Phillips Bufkin. He is survived by his three sons, Thomas Gerry Bufkin, Patrick Joseph Bufkin, and Edward Pearce Bufkin, as well as his brother Edward Otis Bufkin, Jr. and sister Sandra Bufkin Northern. Tommy’s daughters-in-law include Ashley Hester Bufkin, Dinah Marie Bufkin, and Ashley Davidson Bufkin. Tommy’s grandchildren are Patrick Barrett Bufkin, Thomas Hayes Bufkin, Gerry Winslow Bufkin, Thomas Beau Bufkin, Elizabeth Clark Bufkin, and Wyatt William Bufkin.

In lieu of flowers, family and friends are invited to make donations in Tommy’s name to the Antioch Baptist Church.