Miriam H. Killebrew

On July 5, 2025, Miriam Killebrew passed away peacefully in her home in Caledonia, Mississippi, at the age of91. Miriam was born on December 28, 1933, in Holmes County, Mississippi. Life as a military wife took Miriam beyond her rural MS upbringing, raising her own family near Air Force bases in Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, Delaware, and the Philippines. Throughout her life, she would fondly remember stories from her time in the Philippines, and she was especially proud of her time as a volunteer at Clark AFB hospital during the Vietnam War. After two decades away from her home state, Miriam, Marty, and family settled in Caledonia, where Miriam began the next chapter of her life as our beloved “Granny.”

In 1973, Miriam and newly-retired Marty opened Killebrew’s Grocery and Hardware, a fixture in Caledonia for over 30 years. She knew everyone, and everyone certainly knew her. Her outgoing and friendly nature made her the perfect shopkeeper, where she spent countless hours drinking coffee and chatting with the locals. From her home in Caledonia, she continued to explore the world at large by hosting twenty-nine foreign exchange students over the years. She enjoyed getting to know those teenagers, their families, and their cultures.

Granny never let the grass grow under her feet (or her Birkenstocks). Perpetually energetic, she was always on the move and invariably kept herself busy. She loved baseball games, trips to the beach, and going to Philadelphia with her “casino buddies”. She enjoyed collecting things and she loved a bargain, a trait she passed along to just about all of her descendants. She loved making things. When her children were young, she handmade many of their clothes. Later, crocheted tablecloths and “Granny” blankets, tie-dye parties, painted gourds (grown herself, of course), and a kaleidoscope of “yard art”. She was a wonderful gardener, preferring to grow perennials and pass-along plants that kept her yard a cascade of colors from spring to fall. She was a colorful person with a fondness for bright palettes and shiny things. She dressed and decorated and lived in vivid color. She was tough, fearless, and fiercely independent to the very end.

Miriam was preceded in death by her husband, Marty, sons, Michael and Mark, parents, Norris and Alfred Hearn, and sister, Meredith Winstead. She is survived by daughters, Carol Murphree (Sam), Joy Collins (Garry), Pam Robertson (Jim); grandchildren, Jason Collins (Angie), Jeremy Collins (Roxanna), Amber Brislin (Quinn), Barry Murphree (Keavy), Bret Murphree, Carley Robertson, Trey Robertson, Cooper Robertson (Kaylie), Lindsey Crimm (Hunter), and Luke Killebrew (Amber), brother, David Hearn, sixteen great-grandchildren, one great-great-grandchild, and her little dog, Amy. Serving as pallbearers will be Jason Collins, Jeremy Collins, Barry Murphree, Bret Murphree, Trey Robertson, Cooper Robertson, and Hunter Crimm. Memorials in her honor may be sent to Le Bonheur Children's Hospital. Visitation will be held Tuesday July 8, 2025 from 5 pm until 7 pm at Memorial Funeral Home with a graveside service to follow at Rowan Cemetery.