James E. Pickering

(September 2, 1920 – December 5, 2025)

Funeral services will be held at 3:00 pm on Sunday, December 7, 2025, at the Collins Methodist Church in Collins for James E. Pickering, 105 of Collins, who passed away on Friday, December 5, 2025, at the Forrest General Hospital in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

Reverend Tim Beard and Reverend Tim Atwood will officiate at the services with interment to follow in the Salem Baptist Church Cemetery in Collins.  Special music will be provided by Mrs. Annie Kay Rogers, Mrs. Babette Duty, and Mr. James Arrington Goff.  Billy M. King-Colonial Chapel Funeral Home in Collins will be in charge of the arrangements.

The family will receive friends from 1:00 pm until 3:00 pm on Sunday, December 7, 2025, at the Collins Methodist Church, 602 S. 2nd Street, Collins, MS.

Pallbearers will be his grandsons, and great-grandsons, Tal Pickering, Eric Napier, Haydyn Pickering, Ejay Napier, Garrett Robinson, and Josh Blackledge.

Mr. Pickering was born on September 2, 1920, in Kola, Mississippi, to Wiley Thomas Pickering and Alice Rigby Pickering.  He was a graduate of Collins High School and attended the University of Southern Mississippi.  Mr. Pickering was a self-employed contractor and developer for over seventy years before his retirement.  He proudly served his country as a First-Class Petty Officer in the United States Navy during World War II in the South Pacific.  Mr. Pickering was a faithful member of the Collins Methodist Church where he served on the Board of Stewards for many years and in other capacities of the church.  He was a lifetime member of the Olive Branch Masonic Lodge #34.  Mr. Pickering was a loving husband, father, and grandfather.  He enjoyed spending time with his family and will be dearly missed by them all.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Ercell Watts Pickering; his parents, Wiley Thomas Pickering and Alice Rigby Pickering; two brothers, Kermit Pickering and Denton Pickering; and two sisters, Erna Bell Pickering Knight and Christine Pickering Speed.

Survivors include his son, Jimmy Pickering, and his wife, Dianne of Collins; two grandchildren, Tal Pickering, and his wife, Tracy of Collins and Molly Pickering Napier, and her husband, Eric of Brandon; five great-grandchildren, Macie Pickering, and her fiancé, Josh Blackledge, Haydyn Pickering, Garrett Robinson, and his wife, Amber; Ejay Napier, and Gracey Napier; two great great-children, Leighton Jo Robinson and Eli Robinson; and a host of nieces, nephews, and other family members.

The family requests that in lieu of flowers, memorials be made to the Collins Methodist Church, P.O. Box 220, Collins, Mississippi, 39428.

Family and friends may sign an online guestbook at www.billymkingcolonialchapel.com