Funeral services for Dr. Joe V. Pettiet, 87, agronomist and former business owner of Leland, will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday, May 21 at First Baptist church, Leland. He died Friday, May 17, 2019, at his home. Burial will be in the Leland-Stoneville Cemetery under the direction of Boone Funeral Home, Leland.
Dr. Pettiet was born in Flomont, Texas to Benjamin and Willie Marie Pettiet. He graduated from Shallowater High School and served in the U.S. Army. In 1953, he married Iris Cox, and they moved to Fayetteville, Arkansas, where he received his B.S. and M.S. degrees from the University of Arkansas. In 1964, he received his Ph.D. in Agronomy from Mississippi State University and began his career at Delta Branch Experiment Station in Stoneville. He and his wife Iris opened Pettiet Agricultural Services, Inc., a soil-testing and plant analysis laboratory in Leland in 1973, where he worked until his retirement in 2006.
After the death of his first wife, Dr. Pettiet married Jean Bridge of Leland in 2004. Dr. Pettiet was a long-time member of the First Baptist Church of Leland, where he taught Sunday School and served as a Deacon.
He was preceded in death by his wife Iris in 2003 and his second wife Jean in 2018. He is survived by his children Jorene Pettiet of Leland, Kathryn P. Ellis of Pearl, and Clinton and Donna Pettiet of Greenville; and also by his grandchildren, Joseph Ellis of Pearl, Erin Nguyen (Danny) of San Jose, California, Nicole Hand (Adam) of Brandon, Kaitlyn Morgan (Pierce) of Vicksburg, Stephanie Hedgepeth (Davis) of Madison, Samantha Pettiet of Hattiesburg, and Catherine Thrash (Justin) of Moselle; and by eight great-grandchildren.
The family would like to thank Renard Johnson and family for the compassionate, dedicated care they gave Dr. Pettiet during the last year of his life and the DRMC Home Health and Hospice for their professionalism and kindness.
There will be a visitation one hour prior to the services at the church. Memorials may be made to First Baptist Church of Leland or the charity of one’s choice.