Remembering Jerry Wilburn: A Singular Voice from Mississippi's Hills & Hollers

Jerry Wilburn, one of the more legendary members of the Mississippi Legislature in terms of oratory and accomplishments, died January 13, 2026, at age 86. He represented the state's hardscrabble corner of Northeast Mississippi — Wilburn from Mantachie, his colleague Mills from Fulton — neither hamlet very far from the late country singer Tammy Wynette's pastoral home of Tremont.

Mr. Wilburn is best remembered for helping to establish the North Mississippi Regional Center in Oxford in 1973 for folks with physical and mental disabilities. Part of his obituary noted: "Jerry was a vessel testament of the muddy creeks, sandy soil, and hills and hollers of Northeast Mississippi." He sometimes invented words and massacred phrases, and was known to love to expose hidden motives.

Wrote Mike Mills: "He never forgot the least among us." And as Mills continued, "As we like to say in Itawamba County, he was a real character. We must go forward now alone, never forgetting the lessons he taught us: The value of mirth, or just plain foolishness, love for our fellows, and empathy, especially toward those who have the least among us." Wilburn's wit was heard almost daily on the House floor. Once after colossally losing a vote important to him, he said: "Now I know how General Custer felt when he looked up and seen..."