Clinton James "Butch" Herbison Jr

Clinton James (Butch) Herbison, Jr., 70, of Cleveland, Mississippi,died peacefully on Wednesday, December 11, at his home with his wife and firstborn son by his side.

 Butch was born in Cleveland's City Hospital on January 1, 1954, to Clinton J. Herbison, Sr. and Victoria Taylor Herbison. A Shaw, Mississippi resident the majority of his life, he graduated from Shaw High School in 1972 and was a life-long member of Shaw Methodist Church.

 He worked nearly 50 years at Baxter Healthcare as a technician before his retirement earlier this year. During his time at Baxter, Butch was most proud of his perfect attendance record for over 48 years. He also worked as a scoreboard operator at Delta State University's football, basketball and baseball home games for over 45 years. During his treatments over the last 13 months, there were several basketball games he would work with his chemotherapy pump on, refusing to miss time at the scorer's table because of his diagnosis. In April, he was recognized by Delta State Athletics with the Lawrence L. Stewart Service Award.

 It was behind that Delta State scorer's table, he first met Rori Autumn Eddie in 1999. The two quickly became inseparable and were married in her native New York on July 09, 2005. Joining with Rori to forever cherish Butch's memory and his beautiful soul are his greatest sources of pride, his three children: Retired Air Force Chief Master Sergeant Clinton James Herbison III (Ashley; Summerville, South Carolina), Elijah Cox Herbison (Jennifer; Cleveland, Mississippi) and Rae Harlee Herbison (Cleveland, Mississippi); his in-laws, Rod and Paula Eddie (Oxford, Mississippi); his sisters, Gloria Sultan (Waukegan, Illinois), Glenda Correro (Jody; Cleveland, Mississippi), Vicky Mitchell (Francis; Ocean Springs, Mississippi); his nieces and nephews: Jennifer Sultan (Lori; Portland, Oregon), Will Sultan (Melanie; Waukegan, Illinois), Torey Callicutt (Jack; Roswell, Georgia), Claire Correro (Cleveland, Mississippi), Joe Correro (Roianna; Cleveland, Mississippi), Taylor Clayton (Hattiesburg, Mississippi); and those that called him "The Butch": Alexis Brooklyn Cowart, Cameron Taylor Cowart, Audrey Grace Cowart, Warren James Funderburk, Walker Cole Funderburk, John Wyndham Funderburk, William Louis Funderburk and their parents, respectively, Joe & Alicia Cowart (Louisville, Mississippi) and Jeremy & Meg Funderburk (Tupelo, Mississippi).

 He is preceded in death by his parents and the man Butch called, "the nicest, kindest man he ever met," his brother-in-law, Bill Sultan. 

In his final act of service, Butch asked his body be donated to science in hopes it could help any advances in cancer research and prevent any other families from enduring a pancreatic cancer diagnosis.

 He also asked to forgo any formal service or funeral, and instead asked for "a celebration of life on a country patch of grass that nobody has to get all dressed up for." The family has yet to set a date but it will most likely coincide with a home Delta State baseball weekend later this spring.

 Memorial donations in Butch’s memory may be directed to Delta State Athletics or American Cancer Society.