Anselm McLaurin

Anselm Joseph McLaurin, 66, of Brandon, died July 13, 2024, at The Nichols Center in Madison. Visitation will be held at 11:00 a.m. Tuesday, July 16, at Brandon First Methodist Church with funeral services scheduled to follow at 1:00 p.m. at the church, to be conducted by the Rev. Geoffrey Joyner. Interment will be in the McLaurin family plot at Old Brandon Cemetery.

Anse was born on March 6, 1958, in Jackson, Mississippi, the third son of the late John Campbell and Janet Fox McLaurin. He grew up in Brandon where he began attending the newly-established Brandon Academy in 1966. He graduated from Brandon Academy in 1976 where he excelled academically and athletically. He continued his education at the University of Mississippi where he became a member of Sigma Nu Fraternity, graduating with a degree in business and finance in 1980. During the summers he worked for his brother Sidney at Diamond “D” Farms for six years.

In June 1980, he enrolled in the University of Mississippi School of Law, and graduated on an accelerated course in August 1982. He was privileged to be in the last Ole Miss Law School class to enjoy the “diploma privilege” which constituted the exemption of the requirement of taking the Mississippi State Bar Examination.

He began his lifelong legal career practicing law with his father and elder brother John, Jr. at the McLaurin & McLaurin Law Firm in August 1982. He had recently retired from the legal profession at the end of June 2024 after working forty-two years. He was admitted to practice in all courts of the state and belonged to a number of professional legal associations, all attesting to his superior ability as a seasoned trial attorney and advocate, both in the civil and criminal fields. His sharp mind and astute conduct in and out of the courtroom contributed to his excellent reputation as a renowned counselor and litigator.

While in undergraduate school at Ole Miss he met Miss Tammy Harris of Memphis and they began a courtship which culminated in their marriage in Memphis on August 28, 1982. They made their home in Rankin County, and later in Jackson, before returning to Brandon in 2017, where they remained until his death. They had one daughter, Emily Clark McLaurin, born on July 6, 1988, who was the apple of Anse’s eye. Emily was in every sense a “Daddy’s girl” and both Anse and Tammy reveled in her many accomplishments and achievements. A great joy was Emily’s marriage, on April 15, 2023, to Clayton Scott Dungan, and the icing on the cake was the very recent birth of their first child, Clark McLaurin Dungan, on July 9, 2024.

Anse was involved in many civic affairs, including serving on the boards of the Metropolitan YMCA and the Country Club of Jackson, where he was an avid golfer, hitting one “hole in one” during his playing years. He served a term as President of the Rankin County Chamber of Commerce and for many years was a member of the Pearl - Brandon Rotary Club. Anse was a faithful and lifelong member of Brandon First Methodist Church.

His hobbies included traveling far and wide, including a trip to Scotland to play golf at the famed St. Augustine Course, and a number of visits to the Masters in Augusta, Georgia. He enjoyed many visits to Gulf Shores with his family and later to Oxford, where he cheered on the Rebels’ football and baseball teams. His baseball trivia knowledge was unequaled and he astonished many by his mastery of details. He was a loyal supporter of the Mississippi Braves baseball team and for many years was a season ticket holder.

Anse’s survivors include his widow Tammy Harris McLaurin, his daughter and her husband, Emily and Clay Dungan, and his newly-arrived grandson, Clark McLaurin Dungan. He also leaves his brothers John C. McLaurin, Jr., and Sidney L. McLaurin and his wife Trudy, his brother-in-law Chip Harris, his sister-in-law Leigh Logan and her husband Stacy, a number of nieces, nephews, great nieces and great nephews, and his beloved dog, Abbey.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Brandon First Methodist Church, 205 Mary Ann Drive, Brandon, MS 39042.