MANTACHIE – Itawamba County mourns the passing of one of her finest, Bobby Joe Franks, who passed away Saturday, July 15, 2023, in Fulton after a brief illness.
Concord, Massachusetts had Henry David Thoreau and Itawamba County, Mississippi had Bobby Joe Franks. Thoreau went to live in a cabin on Walden Pond and Bob went to live in a small frame house on Highway 363 north of Mantachie. Thoreau looked within himself and critiqued the world. Bob Franks looked beyond himself and chronicled his people. Both men will live beyond their times in the words they leave behind.
Bob, as he was known to his many friends, was born February 6, 1955, to C. O. Franks and wife, Ernie Cockrell Franks of Fulton. He was a 1973 graduate of Itawamba Agricultural High School and attended Itawamba Junior College and Mississippi State University.
Bob was published in several books including A Place Called Home, Itawamba County, Mississippi; An Itawamba Sampler (with Roy Turner); and Images of America: Fulton, Mississippi (with Mona Robinson Mills). Bob was also one of the founders of The Itawamba County Historical Society, which later sponsored Itawamba Settlers, an essential resource for “people working on the same Itawamba families,” where he served as its long-time editor.
Bob was an avid photographer and well-known in on-line communities for his sensitive photographs of Itawamba scenes.
Bob was rigorous in his scholarship and dedicated to helping us understand our past. But he was not above a little gossip. He had a way of looking at you with a shy, side-ways grin when he shared a piquant tidbit, as though he had more to say later. You often felt like you were engaged in a conspiracy when speaking with Bob.
Bob was preceded in death by his parents, his brother, Jerry D. “Chick” Franks, and an infant sister, Barbara Ann Franks. He is survived by his sister-in-law, Mary Montgomery Franks of Hobe Sound, Florida and his niece, Molly Poerio (Jimmy) and his great-nephews, Zackary and Nickolas Poerio.
A celebration of Bob’s life will be held at the Historic Bonds House Museum at the George Poteet History Center in Mantachie, Mississippi, at 4 p.m. on Sunday, August 6, 2023.
Memorials honoring Bob may be made to The Itawamba Historical Society, P. O. Box 7, Mantachie, Mississippi 38855.
McNeece-Morris Funeral Home of Mantachie is honored to be entrusted with arrangements and also grateful to Mr. Franks for allowing us to showcase some of his Itawamba County photographic scenes on our website.
Condolences may be shared with Bob's family and friends at www.mcneecemorrisfuneralhome.com.
To send a flower arrangement or to plant trees in memory of
Bob Franks, please click here to visit our Sympathy Store.
