LAUREL —

    Graveside Services for Kenneth Jefferson Sexton will be held Saturday at 10 a.m. in the Enterprise Cemetery with Rev. Jim Wall and Pastor David Gentry officiating. Burial will follow with James F. Webb Funeral Home in charge of the arrangements.

    Mr. Sexton, 89, died Saturday, Aug. 28, 2010 at his residence. In recent years, he and his wife Victoria were residents of Aldersgate Personal Care Facility.

    Born in Knoxville, Tenn. on June 12, 1921, he was the seventh son of the late John Thomas and Mary Emma (Hancock) Sexton. Kenneth grew up on East Fifth Avenue in the Park City suburb of Knoxville, graduated from Knoxville High School and after World War II earned a degree in agriculture from the University of Tennessee.

    He was recruited from high school into his first job as a clerk for the Tennessee Valley Authority, and then entered the U.S. Army. He was a staff sergeant at the Pentagon, working in the Operations Division, War Department General Staff. This placed him in close proximity to famous historical figures of the era, and he enjoyed seeing history unfold in wartime Washington, D.C. Upon discharge, he was awarded the Good Conduct medal, the American Theatre ribbon, the Victory ribbon, and the Army Commendation ribbon, as well as receiving personal commendation from his superiors in the Pentagon.

    He married in 1946 to Victoria Stephenson, of Enterprise, a staff member of the State Department who was also working with the General Staff in the Pentagon during the war.

    After his military service (1942-1946) and graduation from U.T., he worked in the Cotton Exchange in Memphis, then as a forester for the State of Mississippi, and in the mid-1950’s he moved his family to a street overlooking Clearwater Bay, in Florida. He then worked as a citrus-facility inspector for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, enjoyed many summer assignments to various northern states, and later retired to Bradenton and finally to Meridian.

    In retirement the Sextons were members of Central Methodist Church in Meridian. Together they enjoyed developing a beautiful garden behind their home in North Meridian. They ventured on a score of cruises to foreign lands, fulfilling a lifelong dream of theirs.

    Surviving is one son, Kenneth Stephenson Sexton and his wife Rebecca Ann (Grant) Sexton, of Morehead, Ky.; one granddaughter, Helen Victoria Gentry and husband David, of Milford, Ohio; great-granddaughter, Victoria Megan Gentry; and a beloved niece, Angela Jones of Meridian.

    He is preceded in death by his wife, Victoria Stephenson Sexton; six brothers, Guy, Robert, Roy, Oran, J.T. Junior, and Marvin; and one sister, Georgia Williams of Knoxville.

    Memorials are invited to benefit the ministry for senior citizens at Central United Methodist Church, 1004 23rd Ave., Meridian, Ms. 39301.