A local grocery store owner is giving the families of two Tupelo police officers involved in a fatal bank robbery just before Christmas support after seeing the events of his own childhood play out more than 60 years later.
Wayne Vinson, co-owner of Piggly Wiggly in Summit, was a child when his father, patrolman M.W. Vinson and his partner Jessie James Everett, were shot and killed during a burglary in Hattiesburg in 1952. The Vinson-Everett Police Complex in Hattiesburg is dedicated to their memory. Everett’s son, James, is a retired longtime McComb educator.
Vinson said a college fund has been established for the children of fallen Tupelo police Sgt. Gale Stauffer and his wounded partner Joseph Maher, who has been discharged and is expected to recover from his injuries. The gunman, Mario Edward Garnett, died Dec. 28 in a police shootout in Phoenix.
Vinson said that after he heard the tragic news out of Tupelo, he called Bob Knight, a partner of his and owner of Todd’s Big Star groceries in Tupelo, and asked if he was interested in helping the families.
“The toughest part was the fact that my mom never remarried, or never even really dated, and just trying to get by from day to day,” Vinson said. “So I said, ‘Wayne, you own grocery stores. You can help these people.’ ”
Knight jumped at the opportunity to give assistance to his community members, matching Vinson’s donation.
The pair created an account for each family at the Tupelo store, giving about $10,400 to each family with a weekly limit. If the Maher and Stauffer families spend about $100 per week on groceries, the account, as it stands, will last about two years.
Vinson’s hope, however, is that others will continue to grow the balance and help the officers’ families have a more stable situation than he experienced as a child.
“Bill or Bob or Ann can walk in off the street and give $5 or $10, whatever they can afford, and put that toward future years of having that weekly food substance for those families,” he said. “We’re going to work on that, and hopefully that will take care of some needs for a while.”
Knight said this morning that since the account was created, Tupelo residents have donated about $1,000.
But Vinson doesn’t plan to stop with these two families.
He has gathered the names of seven police officers in Mississippi who have died in the line of duty over the past few years and plans to attempt similar partnerships with grocery stores in those areas.
“The Bible says to take care of widows in need,” Vinson said. “These women and children are still widowed, and they have needs.”
To make a donation, send checks to Todd’s Big Star, 1400 W. Main St., Tupelo, MS 38801. Put fallen Tupelo soldiers in memo line. For information, call the Tupelo store at (662) 842-2673.
