About John Cornelius Mixon

J.C. Mixon was born & raised in Southern Georgia, and came from a loving family of Mixon's. Even as his age was creeping up on him, he still wanted to travel back to Georgia, to get to his family's reunion no matter the physical pain it caused him. He built his home near the community of BeechGrove, & lovingly raised his children outside of Jasper, TX.

Even as a 1st grader, I would sit in front of his fireplace on the brick hearth near him and try to dodge the popping embers, and he would smile a generous toothless smile at me while he read his "Luke Short" & "Louis L'Amor" paper-back cowboy novels by the light of the fire. It wasn't necessary for him to say much to me as I sat there, for his warm glances and a smile always seemed to be enough.

You plowed and planted about 20 acres with your two mules until you finally got a small Ford tractor to take their place. Those mules were also used to do all of your logging. You named them "Pet & Neg" and called their names as you told them to 'Gee, or Haw & Whoa'. That's turn left or right & stop in people language.

He always shared a small piece of his crops from the field with his neighbors up the road for helping him first plant the crops on about 20 acres, and later take the crops in, as they could not afford to spend what little money they had for buying such good foods. I remember you depended on them as much as they trusted you and further depended on you to give the foods they had to have over the coming winter each year. I remember that after you died, you were brought from the funeral home back to your house so all those neighbors could pay their last respects. The cemetery was just down the hill from your house.

I was given a copy of your draft registration for Jasper County, the dates showed that you waited until World War I, was about over before you registered when you were in your early 30's, so you were not called to active duty possibly because you were too old and the war was about to be over. The birth of two of your children was within a year of the registration date, so you were not in trouble with the draft board.

You passed away while sitting in your cow-hide bottom rocking chair on the front porch. The warmth of your company was always felt by all as you gave them a soft toothless chuckle. The positive legacy you left to me had great meaning & I'm glad to know that a part of your blood and your good character and ethics is a part of me today.

My memory allows me to recall that the first thing you did after getting up in the morning was to 'put your hat on' and the last thing in the evening before bed was to 'take your hat off'. No one ever saw you without it. Even as each day passes for me and I get older, I find I still miss you. You were truly an honorable man.

The children of your daughter Juanita, were the only ones of your grandchildren who knew you & addressed you as "J.J." Mabey it was just easier to say for us kids, instead of "J.C." as all of those that came and went from home called you.

It's likely that it was easier to say, and it was more personal to us... after all, we lived a short distance away and across the corn field from you. I remember imposing on you as a boy under age seven, many days just to be in your presence.