Paul E. Broadhead Sr.

Paul Elzie Broadhead, Sr., 70, died Sunday at Bethesda Memorial Hospital in Boynton Beach, FL. A memorial service will be held at 1:30 p.m. Friday at Barham Funeral Home in Meridian.
He was born October 19, 1936 in Needham, AL to the late Sam and Virdie Broadhead. The family moved to Meridian, MS in 1945 where he lived most of his life.
A true entrepreneurial genius, Broadhead built the small Meridian real estate development company he founded in the late 1960's into one of the nation's top ten regional shopping mall developers. He is still known as a legend in the mall development industry. Following the sale of his company in 1984, he turned his considerable energy and talents in many directions. He acquired First United Bank of Meridian, Southeast Mississippi Bank in Quitman and Financial Security Life of Mississippi, as well as a one-third interest in Home Federal Savings & Loan. In 1985 he co-founded Cinemark Theaters, then one of the largest independently-owned theater circuits in the world. He lent his entrepreneurial spirit to creating an alternative crop for Mississippi farmers, nurturing and promoting muscadine grapes by establishing vineyards, constructing a state-of-the-art food processing plant and forming Southern Touch Foods, a marketing operation for the products. Mr. Broadhead was a world traveler whose business interests spanned the globe. His foreign investments included projects in the Orient, Europe and the Caribbean. Helping his father in the timber business from the very young age of seven, Broadhead's career came full circle in the late 1980's when he returned to his earliest roots in land and timber with his purchase of 60,000 acres of timberland in Mississippi and Louisiana and a 5,500 acre high country ranch in New Mexico. His very strong interest in wildlife conservation and timber management prompted him to assign 3,500 acres in North Carolina to the Wildlife Nature Conservancy through a Conservation easement. In 1997 Broadhead bought Sedgefields plantation, a 14,000-acre quail plantation in Bullock County, Alabama built by washing machine magnate Lewis B. Maytag who made it the home of the National Amateur Free-For-All Field Trials. After his acquisition of Sedgefields, Broadhead developed the timber, restocked the five lakes and released up to 90,000 quail a year to return Sedgefields to its glory days. Once he had developed it to its full potential, he sold it to a group who would continue its heritage. The crown jewel in Broadhead's extensive real estate holdings is Brandywine Island, a 10,000 acre island in the Mississippi River near Memphis. He referred to Brandywine as a wilderness paradise. It became his passion and the focus of his efforts during the past few years as he was dedicated to enhancing and preserving the beauty of this natural wonder just minutes from downtown Memphis so that it could be appreciated by generations to come.
One of his most recent and beloved projects was the Broadhead Memorial Park in Needham, AL which he built in 2005 and donated to the citizens of Needham and Choctaw County in memory of his parents, Sam and Virdie Broadhead
Broadhead graduated from Meridian High School in 1954, Meridian Junior College in 1956 and the University of Mississippi in 1958. In 1999 he was awarded an honorary LLD degree by the University of West Alabama. He was the recipient of the Service to Mankind Award in 1980 and the 1991 Hartley D. Peavey Entrepreneur of the Year Award. He was a long-time member of the International Council of Shopping Centers, the Council for National Policy and Safari Club International. He also served on the Executive Board of Directors of the Foundation for the Advancement of Cardiac Therapies. He was a former member of First Baptist Church in Meridian. He was honored during his lifetime by countless organizations, associations and government bodies for his service and generosity.
Sharing the tremendous business success Mr. Broadhead achieved came naturally to him. He was a generous contributor to Columbia University, the Foundation for Advancement of Cardiac Therapies and many national charitable organizations, as well as numerous private individuals to whom his compassion extended. He gave so much quietly with no wish for recognition, but only a desire to help. His philanthropy in the Meridian community is well known through his donation of buildings and founding of numerous organizations including the Meridian Boxing Club, Hilltop House for Boys, Kress Building Youth Center, Friendship Center and the Lauderdale County Juvenile Detention Center, as well as his support of many local charities.
Mr. Broadhead is survived by his wife of 44 years, Sherry Monroe Broadhead; his son, Paul Broadhead, Jr.; his daughter, Suzanne Broadhead Garver and her husband, Matt Garver; six grandchildren, Victoria Broadhead, Hunter Broadhead, R. Hawkins Broadhead, Isabella Broadhead, Jonathan Garver and Sydney Garver; one brother, Norris Broadhead; and three sisters, Shirley Hamilton, Annette Farmer and Dolly Pittman.
The family suggests that in lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society, Hope Village for Children or the charity of one's choice.