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Home Insurance Longtime grocery retailer proprietor leaves legacy of affection, generosity spanning many years

Longtime grocery retailer proprietor leaves legacy of affection, generosity spanning many years

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PASCAGOULA, Miss. (WLOX) – A longtime Pascagoula businessman is being remembered by generations of people that have shopped in his grocery retailer through the years.

Considered one of solely two locally-owned grocery shops in Pascagoula and the one grocery retailer in Gautier, Jerry Lee’s is a spot that numerous individuals have shopped at because it first opened in 1958. It’s a spot that evokes nostalgia in some as they recall days of their youth that have been spent there working behind a money register or pushing buggies. For others, it’s a retailer that brings emotions of consolation, the place prospects are sometimes greeted by identify as a result of they’ve shopped there for many years, a spot they now convey their very own kids and grandchildren to purchase groceries.

Behind the enterprise was Jerry Lee, the grocery retailer’s namesake. The well-known and beloved businessman died peacefully on Feb. 21 on the age of 88 surrounded by his household.

Jerry Lee and his wife Polly opened their first grocery store in Pascagoula on Live Oak Avenue...
Jerry Lee and his spouse Polly opened their first grocery retailer in Pascagoula on Stay Oak Avenue in 1958. They moved to the present location on Ingalls Avenue shortly after and have been there ever since. Jerry Lee died Feb. 21, 2022.(Jerry Lee’s)

On the age of 18, Lee enlisted within the Marines, serving three years earlier than returning dwelling to assist together with his father’s enterprise. In 1955, he married Polly and collectively they opened the primary Jerry Lee’s grocery on Stay Oak Avenue in Pascagoula in 1958.

With a deal with offering pleasant customer support and high quality meals at aggressive costs, the younger couple’s enterprise grew. Lower than two years later, they moved to the present website in a constructing that when confronted Ingalls Avenue. After a fireplace destroyed that retailer in 1970, Lee reopened within the present retailer, which faces east.

With a focus on customer service and competitive prices, Jerry Lee grew his grocery store,...
With a deal with customer support and aggressive costs, Jerry Lee grew his grocery retailer, including an extra location in Gautier.(WLOX)

Simply two years later, he went on to open Jerry Lee’s in Gautier. In 1974, Lee opened a second grocery retailer in Pascagoula, Publix Warehouse Meals. A second Gautier retailer adopted in 2001. Hurricane Katrina destroyed Publix in 2005 and, ultimately, the primary Gautier retailer would shut and merge with the bigger second location.

“At one time, he was the biggest unbiased employer in Jackson County,” stated Ronda DeForrest, the workplace supervisor for the Pascagoula retailer. “I’ve seen Mr. Lee bagging groceries, sweeping flooring. There wasn’t any job that he hadn’t already executed or that he wouldn’t decide up and do once more.”

Lee ultimately retired, passing the companies over to his son Mark Lee and daughter Susan Lee Harris.

Whereas Lee’s shops are proof of his sharp enterprise thoughts, it’s his fame as being a beneficiant and lively member of the group that many will bear in mind. Through the years, Lee served on a number of boards, sponsored quite a few sports activities groups, and sometimes gave again to the group via numerous endeavors.

However, for individuals who knew Lee on a private stage, it’s his variety coronary heart, the way in which he handled individuals, and his love for household that they are going to bear in mind probably the most.

“Mr. Lee is one in 1,000,000. He was beneficiant to people who he knew and those who he didn’t know. He was a great particular person. He was simply one among a sort, you realize. He made you’re feeling like a part of his household,” stated DeForrest. “It’s a company however it’s run like a household. Folks matter. Prospects matter. Mr. Lee goes to be missed by a number of individuals. He was humorous. He might inform nice tales and I’m simply going to overlook him. He was household.”

Lee is survived by his spouse Polly, their three surviving kids, 11 grandchildren,15 great-grandchildren, and his siblings, which incorporates brother Perry Wayne Lee, the proprietor of Pascagoula’s different locally-owned grocery retailer Wayne Lee’s.

Visitation will probably be Thursday, February 24, 2022, from midday to 3pm at First Baptist Church of Pascagoula. The funeral service will start at 3pm with entombment to comply with at Jackson County Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, the household asks that you simply as an alternative make donations to First Baptist Church in Pascagoula or a charity of your alternative. To learn Jerry Lee’s obituary in full, click on right here.

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