Billy Tolbert

Billy Gene Tolbert

Philadelphia

Services for Billy Gene Tolbert will be held Friday, January 13, 2012 at 11 AM from McClain-Hays Funeral Home Chapel in Philadelphia with Rev. Fred Britton

and Rev. Lavelle Woodrick officiating. Burial will follow in Eastlawn Cemetery.

Mr. Tolbert, 81, of Philadelphia, died Tuesday, January 10, 2012 at Anderson Regional Medical Center in Meridian.

He was a native and lifelong resident of Philadelphia, MS. He graduated from Philadelphia High School in 1949 where he played basketball. He married

Helen Burgin Tolbert in 1950 who preceded him in death in 2010. He established the first used car dealership in Philadelphia in 1950. He purchased the Chevrolet-Oldsmobile franchise in 1965 in Philadelphia and in 1969 moved it to its current location. In 1982, he added the Buick & Pontiac franchise to the dealership. Mr. Tolbert served on the board of Mississippi Automobile Dealers Association for four years. In 2002, he was named as the TIME Magazine Mississippi Auto Dealer of the Year. He attended First United Methodist Church in Philadelphia. He was a member of the Philadelphia Rotary Club and a longtime member and past president of the Philadelphia Country Club. He loved all sports whether he was participating or just watching.

Survivors include one daughter, Tammy Tolbert Tawater and her husband, George; two sons, Gene Tolbert and his wife, Rhonda, and Robert Tolbert and his wife,Cathy, all of Philadelphia; seven grandchildren, Robin Tolbert McClellan of Philadelphia, Leah Tolbert of

Flowood, Katy McClenahan of Birmingham, AL, Taylor McClenahan of Philadelphia, Cody Tawater of Hattiesburg, Jill Tolbert Luber of Alpharetta, GA and Cameron Tawater of Grenada; and four great-grandchildren, Burgin McClellan, Byron McClellan, Molly Luber, and Mac Luber.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be made to your charity of choice.Visitation will be held Thursday, January 12, 2012 from 4 PM until 8 PM

at McClain-Hays Funeral Home in Philadelphia.