Olyn Glass Coward

Funeral services for Olyn Glass Coward will be held at 2 p.m. Monday, October 21, from McClain-Hays Chapel, with Bro. Ben McDaniel officiating. Interment will immediately follow at Oak Grove Cemetery near Noxapater, Mississippi. Visitation will be held from 1-2 p.m. prior to the service at McClain-Hays Funeral Home.

Mr. Coward, 97, passed away at his home near Philadelphia, Mississippi on October 16, 2024.

Olyn was born on March 3, 1927 to Willie Archie and Willie Margaret Glass Coward in Noxapater. He was a member of Bond Baptist Church. At age 16, Olyn joined the Navy and served his country in WWII on the USS Pennsylvania. Upon returning stateside, he hosted a variety of jobs throughout his lifetime, always claiming his “real” job was hunting and fishing. Retiring to his Alabama home, he was able to “work” every day. Olyn also enjoyed gardening and watching Mississippi State University athletics.

Olyn is survived by his wife of 75 years, Bettye Jo Price Coward, and three children: Dianne (Tim) Cumberland of Philadelphia, Nell Whitehead of Nanih Waiya, and Dell (Debra) Coward of Louisville. He was known as “Baby Daddy” to his grandchildren: Kayse Jennings, Kelly (Rocky) Higginbotham, Jonathan (Anna Leigh) Whitehead, Dawn (Heath) Dyer, and Brandy Stevenson and his great grandchildren: John Clifton Pope, Kalie Jennings, Levi Cumberland, Caitlin Dickerson (Marisa), Jacob Dickerson, Joseph Dickerson, Meagan Higginbotham, Jordan Higginbotham, Alana Whitehead, Annalysa Whitehead, Trace Dyer, Canon Dyer, Michael Dyer (Emily), Nicholas Dyer, and Josiah Stevenson. He was a great- great grandfather to Lucie Sharp, Walker Dyer, Remington Dyer, and Reagan Dyer.

Olyn was preceded in death by his parents and 12 siblings: Troy Coward, Wessie Patton, Birdie Stevens, Arlene Thomas, Wilma Wilson, Sybil Kinard, Thomas Coward, Prentiss Coward, Percy Coward, Bill Coward, Dewey Coward, and Adam Coward; his granddaughter Alecia Whitehead Holder, and his son-in-law, Albert Whitehead.

Pallbearers will be Brett Coward, Corey Coward, Jerry Coward, Don Kinard, Eric Reed, and “Chunky” Thomas.