Donald "Don" Summers, Sr.

Dorris Donald "Don" Summers, Sr., age 86 , passed away Sunday evening at his home in Batesville, MS. Funeral services will be 2:00 O'clock P.M. Wednesday, September 6, 2017 at the First United Methodist Church with interment to follow in Forrest Memorial Park in Batesville, MS.  The Reverend's Martin Case and Ed Temple will be officiating the service. Tuesday evening, the family will be receiving friends from 5:00 - 7:00 P.M. at Wells Funeral Home in Batesville, MS.  Those honored to serve as pallbearers include, Eric Summers, Ryan Summers, Nathan Summers, Bobby Summers, Joshua Davis, Zach Davis and Brady Summers.Don was born March 21, 1931 in Airmount, MS to the late Frank Dewey Lenord and Mayfried Vickery Summers. He has been a longtime faithful member of the First United Methodist Church, where he has served in many different capacities throughout the years. At the age of eighteen, Don entered the U.S. Navy and served during the Korean War. After honorably serving his country, Mr. Summers went to Mississippi State University on the GI Bill, and graduated second in his class with a degree in electrical engineering. He had a life long love of learning. Don was present and witnessed the first hydrogen bomb test, and then went on to join a team that helped to design the guidance system for the first moon launch. From 1967-1980, he built and sold homes in Yalobusha and Tallahatchie Counties. While still building homes, Mr. Summers entered the grocery business, where he owned and operated several Piggly Wiggly stores including from 1974-1980 in Coffeeville, MS, 1980-1986 in Water Valley, MS, and Piggly Wiggly in Batesville, MS from 1984-1998. It was somewhere in between time that Don found time to earn his private pilots license and continued to fly small private airplanes for many years. He was a community leader in Batesville, MS for many years, having served as a member of the Batesville Rotary Club and past president of the Panola Chamber of Commerce. Don's loving memory and legacy will live on with his wife, Betty Porter Summers of Batesville, MS; daughter, Angela Summers of Batesville, MS; two sons, D. Donald Summers, Jr. and wife Heidi of Batesville, MS, John E. Summers of Los Angeles, CA; brother, Clyde Hugh Summers of Coffeeville, MS; three grandchildren, Eric Summers (Tracy), Nathan Summers, Ryan Summers and one great-grandchild, Brady Summers.Beside his parents, Don was preceded in death by two sisters, Anna Mabel Summers Harrison, Jonnie Inez Summers McCormack, and two brothers, Selvin Coleman Summers  and Frank Dewey Lenord Summers, Jr.Anyone wishing to send a memorial contribution may forward those to the First United Methodist Church, P.O. 797, Batesville, MS  38606.