Rev. Booth Poole

Rev. H. Booth Poole went to be with the Lord on July 3, 2024 at 11:35 a.m. 

Booth was born on July 16, 1930 in Adams County to Willis and Ruby Poole in the old slave quarters at his Aunt Melissie’s house. His older brother, Dennis, declared that the doctor brought him in a grass sack because before the doctor came he wasn’t there and when the doctor left, he was. Booth was the third of seven children born to Ruby and Willis Poole. He grew up in the depression era (as he never seemed to weary of reminding his children). He told of eating dried apples for breakfast, drinking water for lunch and swelling up for supper. He related stories of walking the 5 miles to school, uphill both ways. At the age of 13, Booth was diagnosed with Bright’s disease, characterized by excessive swelling of extremities and face. As a result of the exhaustion in dealing with the disease, he missed a year of school and couldn’t play football. Later, he was able to play basketball and baseball and played some semi-pro baseball while living in Florida.

After completing his education at Mississippi Southern with a Master’s degree in Education, he was a classroom teacher, coach, and principal. In 1959 he answered God’s call to the Ministry. After his seminary graduation in 1962 from Emory University Candler School of Theology in Atlanta, Georgia, where he graduated with a Master of Divinity, he began a ministry of 62 years with the United Methodist Conference. He came back to Mississippi and was appointed to Fletcher’s Chapel UMC near Yazoo City. In his own words, he went hunting for quail, but ended up finding a wife, the young daughter of a parishioner. He decided to wait until she grew up a little, but once she turned 21, he married her. At that time he was at St. John’s UMC in Canton.

From there they went to Pisgah UMC in Pike County, where their first child, William Booth, was born, but tragically died within minutes of birth. Their second child, Mary Anna, was born there in 1968. The family then went to Byram, then to Shiloh, where the last addition to the family was made. Leigh was born in 1972.

He served 14 different appointments, with a total of 25 churches. He officially retired in 1997 from Raleigh UMC, with a second retirement in 2017 after serving at Andrew Chapel UMC for 17 years. That’s an awful lot of people that knew and loved him and his family. After retirement he attended The Church at Shiloh and was a member of the Friendship Sunday School Class. 

Music has always been very important to Booth. He always wanted to be a high tenor singer, but the Lord had other plans. His Dad taught him to sing bass and he attended singing schools and was a part of several gospel quartets: The Adcock Quartet, The Sunspots, The Mississippi Melody Boys, The Travelers Quartet, The Poole Family Singers, and once again The Travelers Quartet.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Willis and Ruby Poole; infant son, William Booth Poole; brother, Dennis Poole; sisters, Emily Poole Odom and Iris Poole Eddy, and niece, Melinda Odom Cooley.

He is survived by his loving wife, Mary Nell, of Pelahatchie, MS; daughter Mary Anna Gordon and her husband, Fabian, of New Orleans, LA; daughter Leigh Poole Warren and her husband, Richard, of Pelahatchie, MS; grandchildren, Emily Warren and Jake Warren; brothers, Jackie Poole and his wife Peggy of Brookhaven, MS; Rev. Bill Poole and his wife Carolyn of Madison, MS; sister: Anna Katherine “Kitty” Poole Nowell and her husband Ralph of Natchez, MS; and a host of nieces and nephews. 

 Visitation will be on Saturday July 6, 2024 from 9 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. and funeral services will be at 11 at The Church at Shiloh, with interment in The Shiloh Cemetery. In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be made to the building fund of The Church at Shiloh.