Obituary: Robert V. "Bob" Massengill

The funeral service for the former Mayor of Brookhaven, Robert V. (Bob) Massengill, will be at Faith Presbyterian Church located at 400 Magee Drive in Brookhaven at 11 a.m. on Thursday, September 3, 2026, with visitation at the church from 9 a.m. until the time of the service.

He was preceded in death by his parents, his sister, and his wife of 59 years, Carol. He is survived by his high school sweetheart and loving second wife, Ann Williams Sherman Massengill. He was the proud father of Karen M. Hickman (and husband, Andrew) and Robb Massengill (and wife, Fran), and of six grandchildren: Hannah Halliwell (and husband, Zach), Will Hickman (and wife, Sara), Heath Hickman, and Maggie M. Andrews (and husband, Carter), Gracey, and Robert Massengill, III. He is also survived by his great grandsons, Witt and Wells Halliwell, and two great-granddaughters, Frances Andrews and Mary Carol Halliwell, as well as several nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Mr. Massengill was a native of Brookhaven and after completing Brookhaven High, graduated from the University of Mississippi. While at Ole Miss he was a member of the Ole Miss Freshman baseball team, a member of ODK, was elected President of the School of Business and Commerce, was Business Manager of The Daily Mississippian, was selected Outstanding Senior Army ROTC Cadet, was a member of Scabbard and Blade, and was a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity. After graduation, he served as a 2^nd Lieutenant in the Finance Corp of the US Army, taught Finance at Ft. Benjamin Harrison, Indiana, and then obtained his MBA from Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania. For over 23 years he was President and General Manager of Southern Wholesale Company, a grocery distribution company, until it was sold to McLane Company in 1986. Mr. Massengill then served as President of Trustmark National Bank, Brookhaven, for six years. He was a member of the Trustmark National Bank Corporate Board of Directors for over fifteen years. Upon leaving Trustmark, he taught “Ethics in the Marketplace” at Belhaven University, and for over twenty years, served as a management consultant to his friend, Jeff Gatlin, to his friend Bernie Reed, and to several other local businesses and individuals. In 1999, he and Bill Sones helped found the Bank of Brookhaven, where he served as Vice-Chairman of the Board and Chairman of the Loan Committee. He served his community well by serving as President of the Chamber of Commerce, Chairman of the Industrial Development Foundation, Chairman of the Brookhaven School Board, Chairman of the Kings Daughters Foundation, served on the KDMC board, and was active in other civic and community affairs.

In 2001, he was elected Alderman of Ward 4 for the City of Brookhaven, and was elected Mayor for all of the people of Brookhaven in 2004, a position he held until he retired in 2009. He considered the following as the highlights of his time as mayor: helping see the community through the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina; meeting with the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs regarding the response of the city and the local churches to the victims of Hurricane Katrina; overseeing the construction of the Jimmy Furlow Senior Citizens Center; installing water parks at City Park and Bi-Centennial Park; adding decorative street signs and attractive lighting in the downtown business area; working with the city and county boards regarding the purchasing and development of Linbrook Business Park; planning and obtaining funding for the construction of the Multi-Modal facility; overseeing renovation of the old Highway Patrol building and converting this into a new office for the Brookhaven Police Department; obtaining Interstate lighting at Exit 40; and holding the Mayor’s Prayer Breakfasts for Pastors in an effort to encourage them to pray for the city while helping build relationships between area churches.

Mr. Massengill was an active member of Faith Presbyterian Church where he served as a Deacon until being elected as an Elder in 1983. He loved World Missions and oversaw Faith’s World Missions Team for many years. He and his wife, Carol, led several mission trips to Belize and Ukraine and also took mission trips to Mexico, Malawi, and Kyrgyzstan. In the late 1990’s he served as Co-Chairman of Presbyterian Church in America’s million fund raising project for the renovation of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Odessa, Ukraine.

From 1994 to 2014, he enjoyed serving on the Presbyterian Church in America’s Committee on Mission to The World, and served as Chairman of that denominational committee twice. He was Chairman of the Mississippi Fellowship of Christian Athletes State Board in 1994 and 1995. He served as Secretary of the Board of African Bible Colleges from 1998 until 2012. Mr. Massengill taught Sunday school at his church, helped lead a small group Bible study, and for several years he and Carol hosted this Sunday evening Bible study at their home.

Bob loved traveling with family, enjoyed attending his children’s and grandchildren’s events, rooted for the Ole Miss Rebels, and enjoyed playing golf. He readily admitted that he was better at finding golf balls than at playing; but even so, he had three holes in one.

Mr. Massengill had the desire to see the love of his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, shared with others, both locally and throughout the world. One of his favorite verses was Micah 6:8, which states, “And what does the Lord require of you but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” He strived to be faithful in each of these, but he knew his salvation depended not on his own righteousness, but on the righteousness of Christ.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to the Mission Fund, Faith Presbyterian Church, PO Box 5090, Brookhaven, MS 39603.