Mr. James Cocklin Sr.

Life Reflections On Sunday, April 23, 2023, God called His faithful soldier, James Cocklin, Sr. home, and James said, “Yes Sir. I am ready for my duty post in Heaven.” James Cocklin, Sr. was born on January 2, 1934 in Sumter County. He was the youngest son of nine children born to the late Ernest Cocklin and Rebecca Wells Cocklin. He attended the public schools of Sumter County. Growing up on the South side of Sumter near Savage Glover Elementary School, he enjoyed baseball, playing football, and fishing. As a teenager, he worked at the YMCA. He attended Lincoln High School. James enlisted in the U.S. Army at age eighteen after marrying his high school sweetheart, Willene Brunson. He fought as an infantryman during the Korean Conflict. He was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, Korean Service Medal with 2 Bronze Service Stars, Combat Infantryman Badge, United Nations Service Medal, and Good Conduct Medal. After serving in the Army and being honorably discharged at the rank of Sergeant he returned to Sumter. He worked as a meat-cutter at Harvin Packing Company for twenty years and at Bi-Lo Supermarket for ten years. While working at Bi-Lo, he decided to go back to school to get his High School GED. He graduated from Sumter High School in 1983. God blessed James and Willene to share in a love story that lasted for seventy-one years. They have been celebrated as the “Longest Married Couple” in Jehovah Missionary Baptist Church. Each year of their anniversary, they gave a dollar for each year as a special donation to the BF Weston Scholarship Foundation of the church. When asked about the secret to a long marriage, they said the keys are putting God first, saying please and thank you, and forgiving one another. They shared everything: money, bills, and chores. In their later years, they could be seen wearing coordinating colors. They loved watching westerns, baseball, and golf and their favorite old movies, “Casablanca,” “An Affair to Remember,” and “African Queen.” In fact, they would often recite lines of those movies to each other as they went about their daily activities. The last movie that they watched together on Resurrection Day was “The Greatest Story Ever Told” which depicted God’s Amazing Love for us when He sent His Only Begotten Son, Jesus to die for us on the cross. This union was blessed with three lovely children, their son, James Jr., and twins, Evette and Evonne. James was reared in a Christian home. At the age of fifteen, he accepted Jesus as his Savior and was baptized at Jehovah Missionary Baptist Church. He has been a faithful member for seventy-four years. He was a member of the Chancel Choir. He was active in the Nursing Home Ministry and the Golden Ministry until his health declined. On Sundays, he loved to tune into the JMBC recorded worship services on YouTube with his wife. Together, they enjoyed doing daily devotions to study and worship God. His favorite gospel songs were “My Soul Is Anchored in the Lord” and “It is Well with My Soul.” He leaves to cherish his memory, his loving wife, Willene Brunson Cocklin, a son, James (Geraldine) Cocklin, Jr.; twin daughters, Evette (Sylvester) Hickmon, Jr. and Evonne (Timothy) Covington; three grandchildren, James T. (Shawnita), Jeffrey, and Stephanie; four great grandchildren, Jason, Shaun, Jordan, and Shanice; a sister, Dorothy Webster; sisters-in-law, Merline B. Brown, Erlene B. Williams, and Angela Brunson, and a host of nieces and nephews, numerous devoted added children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews who honored him as father, grandfather, and uncle, other relatives, and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents, Ernest and Rebecca Wells Cocklin, four sisters, Ophelia, Agnes, Eva, and Marie; three brothers, little Ernest, William, and Abraham; Father-in-Law, Willie Brunson and Mother-in-law, Inez P. Brunson; four sisters-in-law, Minnie Lee Cocklin, Theresa Cocklin, Edith Williams, and Hattie Richburg, and nine brothers-in-law, Reverend Nelson Eaddy, Charles Webster, Thomas Williams, Jr., W.A. Williams, John Brunson, DeLeon T. Brunson, Sr., Larry Brunson, Isaiah Brunson, and Willie E. Brown and other loved ones. James was an excellent example of a strong godly man for his wife children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and the rest of his family. His last instructions to his wife and children were, “Believe in God,” and the smile on his face as he was transitioning let them know that he was happy to be going home to be with the Lord and his loved ones who had gone on. ATTN: The Service will be LIVE STREAMED AT: https://m.facebook.com/jehovahmbc - TIME: 11:00 am

Mr. James Cocklin Sr.

January 2, 1934 - April 23, 2023