James “Jimmy” Elvin Attkisson, Jr., age 85, husband of Gayle Morgan Attkisson, and a resident of Mt. Pleasant, Tennessee, passed away peacefully on Saturday, July 11, 2026, at his residence, with his wife and daughters by his side.

A funeral service will be held on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, at 1:00 PM at Heritage Funeral Home with John Baker and Randy McNeece officiating. Following the service, he will be laid to rest at Polk Memorial Gardens with military honors provided by the Herbert Griffin American Legion Post 19. A visitation will also be held on Wednesday from 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM at the funeral home.

Born on July 24, 1940, in Mt. Pleasant, Tennessee, Jimmy was the son of the late James Elvin Attkisson, Sr. and the late Elise Hester Chumbley. He proudly served in the United States Marine Corps from 1958 – 1962 and was a member of the Herbert Griffin American Legion Post 19 for forty-six years. Following his military service, he met his wife, Gayle Morgan, and they married in 1963.

Jimmy was a member of the United Transportation Union since 1967. He devoted over thirty-nine years to the railroad before retiring to his farm in Mt. Pleasant. He was a Tennessee Southern Railroad Retirement Board Member and a member of Macedonia Church of Christ in Mt. Joy. He attended classes and graduated from the Middle Tennessee School of Preaching in College Grove in 2004.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by daughters, Jennifer (Keith) Throneberry of Columbia, Julie (Guy) Odom of Columbia, grandson, Carter Throneberry, and brother in law David Morgan of Ashland City.

Along with his parents, he was preceded in death by his sister, Diane Attkisson, grandchildren Steffan Graves, Halen Odom, and his lifelong friend, Bobby “Sodie” England.

Those serving as pallbearers will be Guy Odom, Keith Throneberry, Randy McNeece, Charlie Spencer, William “Tot” Roddy, Mike Pruitt, JC “Hoss” Holt, Jr., Brian McCall, Fletcher Lindsey, Jerry Attkisson, and Ricky Hodge.

Honorary pallbearers will include the members of Macedonia Church of Christ, and his former coworkers at CSX Railroad.

The family would like to extend a special thank you to Dr. Gibran Naddy, Dr. Varun Dhulipala and the staff at Tennessee Oncology, and special nurses, Lisa and Paige with Compassus for their care for Jimmy during this difficult time.