Grady Thompson

Grady Thompson, 71, of Crawford, MS passed away on Wednesday, February 26, 2025. A funeral service is planned for Saturday, March 1, 2025, at 2:00 p.m. at Crawford Methodist Church. Interment will follow in Oak Limb Cemetery. Visitation will be at the church from 12 p.m. until service time. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. Jude Childrens Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN 38105 or Oak Limb Cemetery, P.O. Box 167, Crawford, MS 39743. Cockrell Funeral Home is honored to be entrusted with the arrangements. 

Grady was born in Starkville MS, grew up, and lived all of his life in Crawford, MS. He was a 1971 graduate of Central Academy in Macon, MS and after graduation he went into farming. Later he began working at Weyerhaeuser, beginning in the Raw Materials department, and later worked in the Human Resources department. He retired from Weyerhaeuser after twenty-eight years of service.  

One of Grady’s loves was traveling all over the country with his girls rodeoing from a young age and on into high school. In 2011, Grady married Debbie Marler and their combined family doubled in size. In 2013, his daughter Haley passed away after a lengthy battle with cancer, leaving behind her two young sons Cody and Cade. Grady devoted his life to the boys and to raising them. He enjoyed every minute of the time he spent with them going to ballfields, field trips, camping trips, and weekends on the river. Grady spent many hours with the boys after they got home from school, on school projects and made sure they maintained as a b honor roll. Grady was an avid sportsman who loved to deer hunt. He enjoyed spending time outside on the farm. Everyone who knew Grady, both family and friends, knew that he had a dry, witty sense of humor and that he was always a humble and passive sort of guy. He never let his feathers get ruffled, even when nothing seemed to work right. He had a deep love for all of his family and was fiercely loyal to them and to his closest friends. Grady is preceded in death by his parents, Bit and Ruth Thompson; and one daughter: Haley Thompson Seale.  

Those left to mourn Grady’s absence are his wife, Debbie Marler Thompson of Starkville, MS., daughter, Kaci Thompson Jackson (Bart) of Crawford, MS; son, Scott Thompson of Georgia; sister, Terry Thompson Hunter (Walter) of Birmingham, AL; grandchildren: Garrett Jackson, Cody Seale, Cade Seale, A. J. Thompson and John Eller Thompson; a niece, Kayla Hunter Cadden( Bailey) and great niece, Gracie Cadden; step-daughter, Heather Butler (Bryan), step-sons, Shane Ingram (Lena) and Jason Ingram (Joni); step-grandchildren: Cadence, Randee, Garret, Molly, Allie Beth, and Jace. 

Pallbearers will be Tommy Card, Charles Hailey, Bill Randall, Garrett Jackson, Shane Ingram, and Jason Ingram.

Honorary pallbearers will be Dale Duncan and Steve Kesler.