Mitchell Mansour 'Sonny' Salloum

Mitchell Mansour "Sonny" Salloum, age 82, passed away on Sunday, March 12, 2017 in Gulfport, Mississippi. Mr. Salloum was born to Lydia Antoon Salloum and Mitchell S. Salloum on June 27, 1934. He graduated from Gulfport High School in 1951, where he played as the Point Guard on the undefeated Mississippi State Championship Basketball Team. He received a Bachelors in Business Administration from the University of Mississippi in 1955, where he was a member of the Kappa Alpha Fraternity and a member of the Ole Miss Tennis Team. He also served in the U.S. Army and was a General's Aid at Fort Hood, Texas where he won the Fort Hood Base Tennis Championship. He was an active member of the community, serving on numerous boards in service to the place he so loved. He owned and operated M. Salloum's Toggery, and was a successful Real Estate Developer, serving as a partner in the Hardy Court Shopping Center, the Best Western Beach View Inn, and the Sands Apartment in Gulfport and a Partner in Salloum Properties. He was one of the Founding Directors of the Merchants Bank and Trust Company of Gulfport, serving on its Board of Directors until 1996. He also served on the Board of Directors of Memorial Hospital at Gulfport for 17 years and on the Mississippi Gulf Coast Coliseum Board for 28 years, serving for many years as its Chairman. He was a life long Ole Miss Rebel Fan and donor to the Palmer Salloum Tennis Center at Ole Miss named in honor of his father Mitchell Salloum Sr. He was also instrumental in working to bring gaming to the coast. Sonny was a member of Gulf Coast Carnival Association, serving as a Duke twice to King D'Iberville, a member of the Krewe of Bacchus, and a member of the Gulfport Yacht Club. Mr. Salloum was preceded in death by his parents, Lydia and Mitchell Salloum; a sister, Lydia Salloum Werby; and his step-mother, Mary Catherine Salloum. He is survived by his sister, Isabell Salloum Haggar; his brother-in-law, Ron Werby; nieces, Helen Werby, Mary (Dax) Alexander, Lydia (Dan) Novakov, and Marian (George) Bryan; nephews, Joe Haggar, III and Gibran Werby, Jr.; and numerous great nieces, great nephews, family members, and his devoted companion, Mary Jane Allen. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Shriners Hospital for Children, www.shrinershospitalsforchildren.org. The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Wednesday, March 15, 2017, at St. James Catholic Church, Gulfport, at 11:30 a.m. Friends may visit at the church two hours prior to Mass. Burial will follow in Evergreen Cemetery. RIEMANN FAMILY FUNERALHOME, 11280 Three Rivers Road, Gulfport is serving the family. An online obituary may be viewed and memories shared at www.riemannfamily.com.