JACK BROOKS YATES

Jack Brooks Yates, a native of Lexington, MS died November 8, 2023 at his home in Oxford, MS. He was born February 27, 1928 in Shelby, MS to Thomas Elijah Yates and Julia Hilliard Yates.
Following graduation from Shelby High School, Jack attended Ole Miss graduating in 1950. He was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity where he served as President in 1946 and received the Founders award in 2015.
Jack served in the U.S. army and was deployed to the Korean war twice, once while at Ole Miss and again after graduation. He married Patricia Scobey Yates of Lexington, MS, who he had known as a young boy, between the two stints in Korea.
Jack joined the First National Bank of Holmes County in 1952 and was appointed to chairman of the board and CEO in 1962. In 1988 he was elected as a member of the board of directors and Executive Committee as vice chairman of Citizens Bank & Trust Company and Citizens Financial Corporation in Belzoni, MS. In 1994 Citizens Bank & Trust changed its name to BankPlus, where he continued his career as vice chairman until he retired in 2019 at the age of 92. He served as Mississippi Bankers Association vice president and treasurer during the two years preceding his election as MBA chairman in 1991. He also served as chairman of the board of National Bank of Commerce of Corinth, MS from 1985 to 1997. Jack is a former chairman of the MBA State Legislative Committee and former member of the American Bankers Association Community Bankers Advisory Board during his 60+ year service in Mississippi’s banking industry.
Other than devotion to the banking industry Jack honorably served his community as well. He was chosen the first president of the Holmes County Chamber of Commerce and served as president of the Lexington School Board, the Lexington Rotary Club and Central Holmes Academy. He is also a past member of the executive board of the Andrew Jackson Council of the Boy Scouts of America and the industrial and community development board of Delta Council, as well as former director of the Mississippi Economic Council and served as a board member of the Holmes County Economic Development Authority. Jack joined First Presbyterian Church in Lexington, MS in 1950 and has been an elder since 1958, was Clerk of the Session for almost 40 years and served in many other capacities throughout his life. Jack was very generous throughout his life with all resources available to him, and his community of Lexington was always a primary focus.
Jack was preceded in death by his first wife, Patricia Scobey Yates after 47 years of marriage. He has been married to Beth Beall Yates for 26 years. Survivors include Jack’s brother, Gene Allen Yates, Jackson, MS; daughter Suzanne Yates Best, Jackson, MS; sons, Jack “Brooks” Yates, Jr. (Linda), Dallas, TX and Max Scobey Yates (Karen), Ridgeland, MS; seven grandchildren, Nathan Campbell Best, Jr. (Kimberly), Madison, MS, Suzanna Crawford Best, Nashville, TN, Jack Brooks Yates III (Casey), Midland, TX, Elizabeth “Liza” Yates and Crawford “Ford” Pinkston Yates (Meredith), both of Dallas, TX, Max Logan Yates and Jonathan Price Yates, both of Ridgeland, MS; and six great grandchildren. He also was survived by two step-children, Howard Talmadge “Tal” Clark (Janie), Pensacola, FL and John Beall Clark (Cindy), Cleveland, MS; four step-great grandchildren, Grey Gillespie Clark and Fletcher Ely Clark, both of Cleveland, MS, Pace Talmadge Clark and Peyton Clark Magee (Kyle), both of Pensacola, FL; and two step-great grandchildren.
Jack’s family requests that if you desire, memorials in lieu of flowers be sent to the Meta Moore Foundation, Central Holmes Christian School, 130 Robert E. Lee Drive, Lexington, MS 39095 which provides scholarships to students there, or a charity of your choice.
A visitation was held Wednesday, November 15, 2023 from 1:00 to 2:00 at the Howard Allen Education Center next to First Presbyterian Church in Lexington, and the service began at 2:00 in the sanctuary of the church.