The Star Herald
KOSCIUSKO —
Holmes County and the Town of Pickens mourned the loss of Pickens Mayor Joel Gill Monday during funeral services held at Pickens United Methodist Church.
A past candidate for Mississippi agriculture commissioner and U.S. Congress, Gill died as a result of injuries sustained in a one-car accident October 18 on Highway 17 near Pickens. He was 61.
Mississippi Highway Patrol Sgt. Ben Williams said Gill's car ran off the road and struck a tree and on Friday it wasn’t clear the cause of the accident.
Gill’s wife, Ann, described him as a kind man and his death came as a shock.
"He was so kind. He would help anybody," she said.
Gill, a Democrat, was elected mayor in 2009 and had served as an alderman twice in Pickens – from 1989 to 1993 and again from 2005 to 2009.
He was a Democratic candidate in last year's race for commissioner of agriculture, losing to Republican challenger Cindy Hyde-Smith.
Gill along with his family ran the family cattle business, MS Order Buyers Inc., which deals in six states and grossed more than $30 million a year, according to his campaign Web site.
Burial was held at Lakewood Memorial Park in Clinton.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
