Walter Royce Rowell

(November 15, 1929 – December 15, 2022)

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, December 20, 2022, at the Outreach for Jesus Church in Sanford for Walter Royce Rowell, 93, of Sanford, who passed away on Thursday, December 15, 2022, at his residence.

Rev. Mitchell Herrin will officiate at the services with interment to follow in the Bryant Cemetery in Hattiesburg.  Special music will be provided by Brandy Mason.  Billy M. King-Colonial Chapel Funeral Home in Collins will be in charge of the arrangements.

Visitation will be held from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. on Monday, December 19, 2022 at the Outreach for Jesus, 35 Loveless Drive, Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

Pallbearers will be Thomas Atkinson, Chance Boleware, David Boleware, Elvis Davis, Jay Davis, and Brandon Burkhalter. Honorary pallbearers will be Frank Boleware and William Neal.

Mr. Rowell was a dedicated family man and a longtime preacher. He was an avid outdoorsman known for sleeping in his deer stand even in the coldest of weather. He spent his career with the Mississippi Department of Transportation. A loyal fan of the Kansas City Chiefs, he loved football. Never a complainer, he is remembered for saying, "I'm still kickin'". He never left a brush pile unattended, and he was a green-thumb gardener. He was a faithful member of Outreach for Jesus Church, he fought the good fight, and he will be dearly missed by all who knew and loved him.

He was preceded in death by his wife of nearly fifty years, Georgia Loveless Rowell; father, Robert L Rowell; mother, Carrie Lee Davis Rowell; six brothers; and seven sisters.

Survivors include his children, Walter Rowell of Sanford, Samuel Reno Rowell of Sanford, Phyllis Rowell of Marietta, Georgia, Tina Rowell Boleware (Frank) of Heidelberg, Patricia Ann Riels of Collins, Regina Rowell of Sanford, and Lesia Burkhalter (Bill) of Purvis; sixteen grandchildren; forty great grandchildren; and many other nieces, nephews, extended family members, and friends.

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