Thompson Berry (Tom) Dickson formerly of Magee, Mississippi

Thompson Berry (Tom) Dickson, 85, of Jackson passed away on May 22, 2024, from a heart attack while helping a neighbor with their gardening. His family recognizes that he left this world giving back to others as he did his country, church, and community.

Funeral services will be held at 11 am Tuesday, May 28, at Pear Orchard Presbyterian Church. Visitation will start at 9:30 am and a brief graveside ceremony at 1 pm at Lakewood Cemetery.

Dickson is predeceased by his brother, T. Miller, Jr., and his father and mother, T. Miller, Sr., and Mary Lee Dickson. His mother was a music teacher and passed her love of music on to her son who sang in the opera, Carmen, as a child and served in many different choral and musical groups. He graduated from Murrah High School in Jackson where he was a clarinetist in the high school band. During that time, he also found another passion in flying and received his pilot’s license.

After high school, he attended the University of Southern Mississippi, where he was a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. He was involved in many vocal groups and served as a USM cheerleader. Tom answered the call to join the US Marine Corps and left USM to chase his dreams as a pilot. Later, he would return to USM and complete his bachelor of science degree in psychology.

Captain Dickson resigned his commission, very proud to have served his country as a Marine Corps pilot and instructor with duties as a squadron legal and administrative officer as well as an air group legal officer. He was an instructor at NAAS Saufley Field in Pensacola, FL, and also in Meridian, MS. Dickson dedicated his life to his country as a helicopter pilot in Viet Nam from 1968-1969, and during his last few months, he flew medivac missions, taking the wounded to field hospitals. He once said that was one of the most rewarding and heart-breaking missions for him. His last station was at New River, NC NAS.

After returning to civilian life, Tom contributed to the community of Magee and Simpson County where he and his former wife, Betty, bought The Magee Courier in 1970. The Courier became an award-winning newspaper during their ownership. As co-owner, editor, and publisher, he was one of three incorporators of the Mississippi Press Services, incorporating Mississippi Press Association as an independent trade association and for-profit marketing company in 1978. He served as the president of MPA that same year.

Tom was passionate about his Christianity and loved his involvement with the Magee First Baptist Church, serving as a deacon, choir member, and soloist. He was the sound engineer for various youth vocal groups and worked with the Rev. Paul Padgett. He enjoyed being involved with the youth of the church and drove them across the country to ski the mountains of Colorado in a bus he had helped the church acquire. He also enjoyed taking the youth group to retreats on the Gulf Coast and Ridgecrest near Asheville, NC.

Our family cannot forget his love and devotion to his role as a member of the Magee Volunteer Fire Department.

The Dicksons sold the newspaper in 1984, and Tom joined the staff of Entergy Corporation in publishing. After moving back to Jackson, he worked for the Mississippi State Department of Health, Neel-Schaffer Disaster Response Team, Vanguard Emergency Management, and FEMA in the emergency management field.

He was a member of the Pear Orchard Presbyterian Church, where he met his beautiful wife, Diane, and served as a choir member and soloist. Their passion for music and the Lord brought them together.

He loved his four girls beyond measure: Beth Dickson-Gavney and Lynn Dickson-Mesinas, Jennifer Wingfield, and Cassie Fountain, and his beautiful grandchildren: Stefano, Franco, Italo, Giacomo, McLain, Reece, Meena, Jon Martin, Maggie, and Trest, who were his proudest accomplishments. He is also survived by his niece and nephews Mike, John, Stephanie, and Steve, their children, and his three sons-in-law, Dean Gavney, Gino Mesinas, and Randy Wingfield.

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