Mr. James Phillip (JP) Holland, age 84, died January 24, 2025 at the USA Providence Medical Center in Mobile, AL. He was born on February 14, 1940 to James Preston and Preza Lee Holland in Lucedale, MS where he continued to live most of his life.

He graduated from Lucedale High School in 1958, and later was the first person in his immediate family to receive a college degree, which was a BS degree from Mississippi Southern University (now USM) in 1962. The majority of his professional career was spent working at Ingalls Shipbuilding in the Change Order department, estimating material and labor impact from changes in ship specifications. His only time away from this was several years spent working as a numerical control programmer for Cali and Associates, programming the fabrication of complex ship parts. He really enjoyed this work and was very good at it.

Mr. JP was a deceptively complicated person. He was very good at math from an early age and continued to look for and work math problems all of his life. He enjoyed reading, reflecting and discussing the Ask Marilyn weekly column in Parade Magazine, and found numerous issues with her answers over the years. He mastered the various modern technologies and was much more technologically savvy than most eighty-year-olds. He had a very dry and sarcastic sense of humor that he wielded on a daily basis. He worked toward being fit throughout his life, even building wooden weights and keeping them secret when he was in high school. His concern was that his father would not condone such activity, and thus much of his fitness routine he continued to try to keep secret. Remaining close to family and in the area where he was born was important to him, and while others would leave for opportunity, he stayed stalwart in his way. While not necessarily always correct, it is true that he was one of the most principled people that you will ever find, and his principles dictated how he lived and interacted with others; he was never contradictory. He loved his small family, especially his only grandson, who graduated in Engineering from Vanderbilt University and JD from Georgetown Law. He will be greatly missed.

Preceding him in death were his parents, James Preston Holland and Preza Lee Holland; and his former wife Elaine C. Holland.

He is survived by his son Dr. James Allan Holland (Mirjana) of Chattanooga, TN, his grandson James Brian Holland, who is a dual US/EU Citizen, and his granddaughter Monique Y. Tomic of New Orleans, LA; as well as his brother William P. Holland of Lucedale, MS; and his niece and nephew Tammy Holland Bolin and Terry P. Holland, both also of Lucedale.

The funeral will be held 2:30 pm on Saturday, February 1, 2025 at Sigler Funeral Home, 4248 Main St., Lucedale, MS with Rev. Larry Havard officiating. Burial will be in Magnolia Cemetery.

Calling hours will be Saturday, February 1, 2025 from 12:30-2:30PM at Sigler Funeral Home, 4248 Main St., Lucedale, MS.

Sigler Funeral Home, 601-947-3112, www.siglerfuneral.com, 4248 Main Street, Lucedale, MS, is in charge of arrangements.