Jonny Michael “Strick” Strickland, 77, died peacefully on Monday July 13, at the Veterans Home in Oxford, Mississippi, surrounded by family.
Jonny was born in Hampton, Arkansas, but moved to Hooks, Texas, as a child. He graduated from Hooks High School in 1966, joined the Army, and served during the Vietnam War. Upon returning in 1972, he apprenticed through the IBEW Local 301 in Nash, Texas. That same year he met his wife, Mary, whom he married in 1973. Jonny worked on construction sites for The Dallas Museum of Art, Campbell’s Soup Company in Paris, and International Paper in Domino before working at General Motors in Shreveport as a maintenance electrician for the truck and bus line for 28 years; he was a proud member of the UAW.
Upon retirement, he loved traveling to Oxford to visit his grandchildren. He loved going to lunch at hole-in-the-wall restaurants. After the death of Mary, he and her brother, Johnny, continued going to lunch most weekdays until last spring.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Jesse Ray and Reba Strickland; his brothers, Mark and Gary Strickland, and his wife of 48 years, Mary Hartline.
He is survived by his daughters, Melissa Strickland and Amanda Bennett; his son-in-law, Scott; and grandchildren, Callie and Evan, all of Oxford; his sister, Teresa Putman, and her husband, David; and Beverly Strickland, sister-in-law.
Per his request, his family will have a graveside ceremony at a later date.
