Mr. John Wesley Powell, Jr., 87, formally of the Cove area in Panama City, FL, died peacefully Friday, May 13, 2016, in Birmingham, AL. He had been a resident of Panama City since 1937. Mr. Powell graduated from Bay County High School in 1946, attended Massey Business College in Montgomery, and then joined his father in business at Powell and Co. Men's Clothing.
Mr. Powell served his country in the U.S. Army during the Korean Conflict. After returning from the Army, he took ownership of Powell and Co., where he remained until he sold the business in 1983. Mr. Powell then served as Bay County Deputy Tax Collector until he retired in 1993.
Mr. Powell was preceded in death by his wife of sixty years, Doris Miller Powell. He is survived by two sons, Wesley Powell of Dallas and Jeffery Powell and his wife Tammy and their son Will, of Birmingham; sister Jane Tweedy and her husband Bill of Panama City; sister Frances Martin of Chesapeake, VA; and many nieces and nephews.
Visitation for Mr. Powell will be held at Wilson Funeral Home from 5 to 7 pm, Monday, May 16 and also from 1 to 2 pm, Tuesday, May 17 prior to the services. Services for Mr. Powell will be held at 2pm, Tuesday, May 17 in the Wilson Funeral Home Chapel with the Reverend Steve Rascoe officiating. Interment will follow at Greenwood Cemetery with a brief graveside service.
Active pallbearers will be Mr. William Powell, Mr. William Thomas, Mr. Kim Shores, Judge Joseph Grammer, Mr. Kenneth Russell, and Mr. Roland Martin.
If you wish, donations may be made in his name to a local hospice.
The family wishes to thank Ms. Dawn Henson and Mrs. Patricia Batson and acknowledge their devoted caregiving to Mr. Powell during the last two years of his life.