James Edward Farmer

James Edward Farmer, 93, passed away on February 18, 2026, in Thomasville, Georgia. James, better known to his friends as "Jim," and to his grandchildren and great-grandchildren as "PaPaw", was born in Memphis, Tennessee on October 15, 1932, to James Monroe and Annie Clarice Farmer.

Jim graduated from Memphis State University in 1954 with a degree in Chemistry. Shortly after he graduated, he married the love of his life, Mary Jo Barnett. He and Mary Jo were lovingly and devotedly married for 63 years until she passed in 2017. Early in their marriage, Jim served in the Army from 1954 to 1956. After his discharge, he worked for Proctor and Gamble in Memphis as a chemist. In 1967, the company moved his role to the Buckeye paper mill in Perry, Florida where he and Mary Jo would spend the next 50 years as active members of the community. In total, Jim spent 37 years at Buckeye, retiring in 1990 to spend more time with his family and newborn grandchild.

Jim was a man of great faith, serving as a deacon, Sunday school teacher, choir member, and in many other roles at First Baptist Church of Perry, until he moved, and then was an active and dedicated member of the Dawson Street Baptist Church in Thomasville. He was an avid outdoorsman who enjoyed spending time hunting, fishing, tending to his vegetable garden and working in his woodshop. Jim was a beloved parent, grandparent and great-grandparent who lovedy, attending countless sporting events, school plays, graduations, birthdays, and other occasions both big and small.

In 2016, Jim and Mary Jo moved to Thomasville, Georgia, to be closer to family, where they both lived until the end of their days.

Jim is reunited in death with his parents, James and Clarice, his sister Betty, his wife Mary Jo, and his eldest son Steve. He is survived by his son, David (Mary) Farmer of Thomasville, Georgia, his grandchildren Sarah (Bobby) Fisher of Statesboro, Georgia and James (Stefanie) Farmer of Atlanta, Georgia, and his great-grandchildren, Maddie Jo and Ella James Fisher.

Funeral services will be held at 2:00PM on Sunday, February 22nd at Dawson Street Baptist Church in Thomasville, Georgia with Rev. Lee Waller officiating. Entombment will follow in Pineview Memorial Cemetery. The family will receive friends starting at 1:30 pm.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in his honor to Dawson Street Baptist Church or the American Kidney Fund.

Arrangements are under the care of Burns Funeral Home of Perry, Florida.

Gone but never forgotten.