James Cooke Robertson

Funeral services for James Cooke Robertson, 94, of Indianola, MS will be held Friday March 30, 2018 at 2:00 P.M. at The First United Methodist Church in Indianola. He died Tuesday, March 27 at his home in Indianola. Burial will be in the Indianola City Cemetery under the direction of Boone Funeral Home, Indianola. 

James Cooke Robertson was born to the late Thomas Dotson Robertson and Irene Cooke Robertson on August 10, 1923 and lived most of his life in Holly Ridge, MS. He attended Leland Public Schools and graduated from Columbia Military Academy in Columbia, TN in 1941. He graduated from his beloved Mississippi State University where he served as president of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, a member of Scabbard and Blade, and Alpha Zeta Agricultural Fraternity. 

His Mississippi State education was interrupted by WWII. After graduation from Officer’s Candidate School at Ft. Benning, GA in early 1944, he was assigned to the 35th Infantry Division of the U. S. Third Army under General George Patton’s command. He landed on Omaha Beach in France in late June, 1944, and his division moved across Europe participating in the Battle of the Bulge in December, 1944. 

After the war in Europe was over, he was then assigned to the Pacific battle front. Before his departure, the atomic bomb was dropped on Japan in August, 1945. He was then discharged from active duty. During his time of service, he was awarded the Purple Heart, Bronze Star, French Legion of Honor, and the Combat Infantry Medal of which he was most proud. He then returned to Mississippi State to finish his degree. During the Korean Conflict, he was recalled to active duty where he served as an aide to General Galla Paxton until his discharge. He returned to Holly Ridge where he joined his late brother William Thomas Robertson in a farming career spanning over seventy years. 

James was very involved in the Mississippi Delta. James was a life-long member of the Indianola First United Methodist Church where he served as a member of the Administrative Board and the Swartz-Ward-Rose Sunday School class. The Indianola Academy, which he served for many years as president, held a very special place in his heart. He served on the Boards of First Savings and Loan, Farmer’s Grain Terminal, and as a Delta Council Vice-President. He served as president of the Sunflower County Farm Bureau, Indianola Rotary Club, and as a long time director of the FMH Water Association. He enjoyed a lifelong passion for agriculture, Mississippi State University, and time spent playing tennis with his treasured friends. 

James was married to the late Anne Barrett Robertson for over 61 years. He is survived by his four children including James Cooke Robertson, Jr. (Elyette), Irene Robertson Long (Lawrence), Betty Barrett Robertson Rogers (Denton), and Susan Robertson Allen (David). His eleven grandchildren include James Cooke Robertson, III, John Thomas Robertson, Mary Nelson Robertson, Elizabeth Long Friary (Richard), Will Long (Jane Critz), Margaret Ross Long, Christopher Polk, Anne Barrett Polk Hazard (Matt), Laura Polk Phillips (Mason), Mary Chandler Allen Neal (Tyler), Baird Allen, and four great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law Frances Scott Robertson, Doris and Howard Fisackerly, Libby Barrett, Rebecca and Dick Barrett, and many nieces and nephews. 

There will be a visitation held following the services at 704 Magnolia Drive, Indianola, Ms. Memorials may be sent to The First United Methodist Church at P.O. Box 86, Indianola, MS 38751 or to Indianola Academy at P.O. Box 967, Indianola, MS 38751.