James "Jay" Thrall Jr.

A celebration of the life of Jay Thrall will be held on Friday, June 27 at 11 AM at New Hope Church. Jay was born on January 19, 1964 and passed away at his home in Nacogdoches on June 19, 2025.
Jay grew up in Woodville TX, moved to Lufkin as a teen where he graduated from high school, and eventually settled in Nacogdoches. Somehow he managed to maintain friendships with a number of people from all of those places as well as the numerous social circles he'd been a part of over the years. Always the class clown, he enjoyed being the center of attention and keeping people entertained. One person said it best- he could put a smile on your face while he was insulting you. He was kind, generous, and almost as funny as he thought he was.
Jay was an entrepreneur at heart, having started his own lawn care business as a young man; from there he went into the car business and worked for several local dealerships until he opened Summit Motor Company in the mid-90s. In 2004, Jay opened Thrall's Grocery & Deli where he became fast friends with the residents of the Melrose, Woden and Chireno communities. While he had taken a step back from the daily operations of the store, customers could still find him sitting in the café and would come by for lunch and their daily dose of Jay harassment. He enjoyed making the daily lunch videos, and mostly reading the comments that came from it. When a recent video went viral, he felt like a celebrity and bragged to everyone about how many views he had received (he would want everyone to know that as of today that was 762k).
Jay was well known and loved by the members of his own community in Appleby. He enjoyed twice daily buggy rides to the cemetery with his dogs, Toby and Teddy as well as visiting neighbors and friends. He was always quick to help someone in need, and appreciated his friends and neighbors who were quick to do the same for him. He took great pride in his property and was constantly working to improve it. He was looking forward to growing plants in his greenhouse and excited about spending his afternoons in the pool.
Jay is survived by his dad, Jim Thrall, mom, Virginia Knibb, sister Peggy Thrall, daughter and son-in-law, Lindsay and Kevin Waterman, daughter and son-in-law, Lacey and Justin Wade, daughter, Trevor Thrall, grandchildren, Laynee, and Andy Marquez, Rielle and Jaylee Riddles, Blayden Flores, Makenzie, Oakley and Colt Waterman as well as two great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his sister, Vandi Thrall.
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