Bobby "Tony" Alton Mason, 92, died peacefully early Sunday, August 27, 2023, at Landmark Lifestyles in Tupelo. He was born at home on February 19, 1931, near Vossburg, MS. His parents were Woodson and Ida Mason.
Preceding him in death were his wife, Allene Eaves Mason; his parents; four brothers, Bertis, WA, Dennis, and Clyde; and three sisters, Ann, Hazel, and his infant twin sister Betty Arlene.
Tony lived a life of friendships and serving those he loved. After graduating from Pachuta High School, he earned his associate degree at Jones County Junior College. He was accepted to Mississippi State University, but Tony chose to forego his bachelor’s degree to stay at home and help his aging parents care for his disabled older sister Ann. He served in the U.S. Army in the Korean War as that conflict drew to a close. Upon his return home, he landed a job as a traveling groceries salesman with Cole & Terry in Meridian, calling on small rural family-owned markets in southeast Mississippi and southwest Alabama. He quickly befriended the store owners, their families, and many of their customers and was soon setting sales records due to his friendliness and strong work ethic. At one of the tiny country markets he served, he met Allene, the niece of the owner. She would become his bride despite her mother's warning about this proverbial traveling salesman: "Forget about him. He is not the marrying type!" He loved her faithfully for their 53 years of marriage until her death on July 17, 2012. Shortly after the birth of their first son, Bob, Tony moved his family to Jackson, MS where he continued his sales career with Standard Oil Company of Kentucky which later merged with Chevron. While in Jackson, their second son, James, was born. His work with Chevron included moves to Houston, MS, and then Tupelo in 1970 where he spent the rest of his life. When he decided to leave Chevron so that the family could avoid another move and stay in Tupelo, he chose to serve Allene by spending an extended season at home caring for his family so that she could complete her master’s degree and be more effective in her career as a teacher. He returned to sales at JC Penney where he resumed setting sales records, befriending customers, and having animated hug-filled conversations with their young children until his retirement in 1994. Tony enjoyed the outdoors. Friends knew if he was not at work, home or church, he was hunting or fishing. He shared these experiences with countless friends and was quick to coach others in the required skills and assist in the needed equipment purchases, setup, maintenance, and repair. His family spent several vacations camping. Once the campsite was set up, he would explore the campground and almost always find someone he was related to, knew, or met and bring them back to meet his family. People around Mississippi and beyond were delighted to receive surprise gifts of his famous made-from-scratch pralines, peanut brittle or warm loaves of sourdough bread. Often, he would personally deliver up to 40 loaves a month. Tony was a Christ-follower who faithfully prayed for those he knew. He was a member of Harrisburg Baptist Church for 53 years and served in a variety of roles.
A memorial service celebrating Tony's life will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, September 23, 2023, in the Sadie M. Holland Memorial Chapel at Holland Funeral Directors, 5281 Cliff Gookin Blvd, Tupelo, MS. Visitation will begin at 10 a.m.
Surviving Tony are his sons, James and wife, Erin, of Flora MS, and Bob and wife, Diana, of Redlands, CA; four grandchildren, Jordan, Elissa, Luke and Noah; three great-grandchildren, Caleb, Jack and Addie; several nieces, nephews, and cousins; and his cherished friend and later in life companion, Mary Sullivan.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts can be made in his honor to Harrisburg Baptist Church, 4675 Cliff Gookin Blvd. Tupelo, MS 38801; Cru (Campus Crusade), (Account 0260126), PO Box 628222, Orlando, FL 32862-8222; or Methodist Children's Homes of Mississippi, 805 North Flag Chapel Rd, Jackson, MS 39209.
Honorary pallbearers will be Ray Pletcher, Bob Jones, Louidean Ball, Robert Magers, John Tomlinson, Jimmy Mounce, and members of his Sunday School Class at Harrisburg Baptist Church.
For those unable to attend, the service may be viewed at 11 a.m. on Sept. 23 at hollandfuneraldirectors.com/Live-streaming and will be archived thereafter. Condolences may be emailed to hollandfuneraldirectors@comcast.net.
Submitted by Holland and Funeral Directors
