Date of birth: 27 Feb 1928
Date of death: 08 Nov 2023

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Burial Information

Section 09 (Click Here for Section Map)
Cemetery: Odd Fellows Cemetery
Plot: 0364-06
Status: Occupied

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Veteran Information

Branch: US Army
War/Campaign: Korean War

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Notes

Obituary

Jack Brooks Yates, a native of Lexington, MS died November 8, 2023 at his home in Oxford, MS. He was born February 27, 1928 in Shelby, MS to Thomas Elijah Yates and Julia Hilliard Yates.

Following graduation from Shelby High School Jack attended Ole Miss graduating in 1950. He was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity where he served as President in 1946 and received the Founders award in 2015.

Jack served in the U.S. army during the Korean War and was deployed to Korea while at Ole Miss, and again after graduation. He married Patricia Scobey Yates of Lexington, MS, whom he had known as a young boy, between the two deployments in Korea.

Jack joined the First National Bank of Holmes County in 1952 and was appointed to chairman of the board and CEO in 1962. In 1988 he was elected as a member of the board of directors and Executive Committee as vice chairman of Citizens Bank & Trust Company and Citizens Financial Corporation in Belzoni, MS. In 1994 Citizens Bank & Trust changed its name to BankPlus, where he continued his career as vice chairman until he retired in 2019 at the age of 92. He served as Mississippi Bankers Association vice president and treasurer during the two years preceding his election as MBA chairman in 1991. He also served as chairman of the board of National Bank of Commerce of Corinth, MS from 1985 to 1997. Jack is a former chairman of the MBA State Legislative Committee and former member of the American Bankers Association Community Bankers Advisory Board during his 60+ year service in Mississippi’s banking industry.

Other than devotion to the banking industry Jack honorably served his community as well. He was chosen the first president of the Holmes County Chamber of Commerce and served as president of the Lexington School Board, the Lexington Rotary Club and Central Holmes Academy. He is also a past member of the executive board of the Andrew Jackson Council of the Boy Scouts of America and the industrial and community development board of Delta Council, as well as former director of the Mississippi Economic Council and served as a board member of the Holmes County Economic Development Authority. Jack joined First Presbyterian Church in Lexington, MS in 1950 and has been an elder since 1958, was Clerk of the Session for almost 40 years and served in many other capacities throughout his life. Jack was very generous throughout his life with all resources available to him, and his community of Lexington was always a primary focus.

Jack was preceded in death by his first wife, Patricia Scobey Yates after 47 years of marriage. He has been married to Beth Beall Yates for 26 years. Survivors include Jack’s brother, Gene Allen Yates, Jackson, MS, daughter Suzanne Yates Best, Jackson, MS, sons Jack Brooks Yates, Jr. (Linda), Dallas, TX and Max Scobey Yates (Karen), Ridgeland, MS; seven grandchildren-Nathan Campbell Best, Jr. (Kimberly), Madison, MS, Suzanna Crawford Best, Nashville, TN, Jack Brooks Yates III (Casey), Midland, TX, Elizabeth Minton Yates and Crawford Pinkston Yates (Meredith) both of Dallas, TX, Max Logan Yates and Jonathan Price Yates both of Ridgeland, MS; and six great grandchildren. He also was survived by two step-children Howard Talmadge “Tal” Clark (Janie), Pensacola, FL and John Beall Clark (Cindy), Cleveland, MS; four step-grandchildren Grey Gillespie Clark (Brett) and Fletcher Ely Clark, Cleveland, MS, Pace Talmadge Clark and Peyton Clark Magee (Kyle), Pensacola, FL, and two step-great-grandchildren.

Jack’s family requests that if you desire, memorials in lieu of flowers be sent to the Meta Moore Foundation, C/O First Presbyterian Church, P.O. Box 127, Lexington, MS 39095 which provides scholarships to students at Central Holmes Christian School in Lexington, Lexington Odd Fellows Cemetery Inc., P.O. Box 1213, Lexington, MS 39095, or the charity of your choice.

A visitation will be held Wednesday, November 15, 2023 from 1:00 to 2:00 at the Howard Allen Educational Building next to First Presbyterian Church in Lexington, and the service will begin at 2:00 in the sanctuary of the church.

Mortimer Southern Funeral Home has been entrusted with arrangements.

Family Members

Parents
Thomas Elijah Yates
Julia Hilliard Yates

Siblings
Thomas Elijah Yates, Jr.
1913 - 1965

Mary Elizabeth "Honey" Yates Hooker
1915 - 1999

William Hilliard “Jabo” Yates
1917 - 1993

Gene Yates
1930 - Living

Spouse
Patricia Ann Scobey Yates
1928 - 1997 (m. Aug 12, 1950 - Lexington, Holmes Co., Mississippi)

Children
Suzanne Yates Best
1953 - Living

Jack Brooks Yates, Jr.
1956 - Living

Max Scobey Yates
1958 - Living

More information, family relationships, and images may be found by CLICKING HERE (external link)

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