Tony Biffle

Tony Dearth Biffle, age 67, died in Biloxi on October 28, 2019.
He was a nationally respected editorial writer, a lover of books, libraries, courthouses, dogs, old maps, globes and thrift stores.  He was a Vietnam War veteran, and a student of Mississippi history.
Tony was born in Pontotoc, MS, on May 15, 1952, the son and of Ray and Dot Biffle, one of eight children.  His brother Mike explained that though the family didn't have anything extra, they didn't lack anything, and Dot had "special" dishes she fixed for each of the eight.
One of her signature dishes was tenderloin with biscuits and gravy, Tony's favorite that she called "Tonyloin."
Wherever he lived through the years, he always came home to his Mother's table, and until her death in 2009 Tony called Dot each and every day.
After high school, he volunteered for the U.S. Army, and served a tour of duty in Vietnam, where he was an information specialist in the DaNang Sector.
He was the only volunteer in his platoon.  All of the other members were draftees.
For his service in the war he received the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal with two service stars and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal.
After his five years in the Army it was on to (what was then) Memphis State University where he received a bachelor's degree in journalism.
His newspaper career included 15 years at the Commercial Appeal in Memphis, most of which included his duties as a copy editor and page designer.
He joined the Sun Herald as a copy editor but soon he was promoted to the editorial pages where he enjoyed a distinguished career, winning national awards for his clear and forceful editorials.
He was known for his fine reporting techniques, digging deep to find the additional facts and detail that helped underscore his sharp, and fair, opinions.
Tony's editorials were noted for their insight and clarity, taking complex and dense issues and crafting editorials that were understandable to all.
In August of 2005, and the time of Hurricane Katrina, Tony rose to the challenge of the devastation and death that had arrived on our shore.
On the day before Katrina came ashore, he wrote a front page editorial that spoke of the plight faced by all across South Mississippi and beyond, in these powerful and prophetic words of:
The Power of Prayer....and plywood
Prayer and plywood now stand between us and the greatest threat to South Mississippi from a hurricane since Camille.
But unlike Camille, the slow approach of Katrina has provided us with time to prepare or flee. For that, we can be truly thankful.
By now, there is little if any opportunity left for preparations. Evacuation is all but out of the question.

Those who have chosen to remain are expected to experience one of the greatest furies that nature can unleash.
The storm is almost certain to change the face of South Mississippi forever.
But our communities have experienced such devastation before. Camille also forever altered many of our lives and much of our landscape.
Enduring such a calamity is part of our collective heritage. Whatever challenges Katrina presents us, we are confident that they too will be met with similar resolve.
We at the Sun Herald are as concerned as anyone about what this day may bring. But we have no doubt that, with time, whatever can be done will be done to restore our way of life.
Until then, may all the plywood hold.
And may all our prayers be answered.

In the days and months that followed, his editorials were the voice of hope and possibility across our devastated homeland, and they advocated for help and attention from our fellow Americans, who responded magnificently.
His editorials were a part of the Sun Herald's journalism recognized by the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service, and along with two colleagues was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in editorial writing.
The Pulitzer Board recognized that writing for its poignancy and authority.
Tony also was awarded the prestigious National Walker Stone Award for the Scripps Howard Foundation, and numerous first place awards from the Mississippi Press Association and Louisiana-Mississippi Associated Press.
Tony retired from the Sun Herald in 2015, and enjoyed these latter years with his beloved wife, Rita. Tony and his daughter also rescued a dog named Zoey that became the family pet. The family enjoyed traveling South Mississippi to attend estate sales, and frequently went to thrift stores searching for old books and vintage paper items.
He is preceded in death by Sarah Katharine "Kate" Biffle, his daughter; Ray and Dot Biffle, his parents; Loyce Judd and Beatrice Hadaway Russell, his grandparents; Claude and Grace Biffle, his grandparents; and Trey Edwards, his nephew.
He is survived by Rita Biffle, his wife; Sharon Morris, his sister; Lonnie Morris, his brother in law; Russell "Russ" Biffle, his brother; Evelyn Biffle, his sister in law; Mike Biffle, his brother; Cindy Sexton, his sister; Claude Sexton, his brother in law; Christy Ray, his sister; Randy Ray, his brother in law; Scott Biffle, his brother; Dana Biffle, his sister in law; Carla Wooten, his sister; Hootie Wooten; his brother in law; Len Pitts, his stepchild;  Melinda Pitts, his stepchild; Benjamin Pitts, his stepchild; Alexis Pitts, his step grandchild; Benjamin Pitts, his step grandchild; Elizabeth Pitts, his step grandchild and a host of nieces and nephews.
Funeral services will be held Tuesday, Nov. 5. Visitation with the family will be from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. at RIEMANN FAMILY FUNERAL HOME, 274 Beauvoir Road, Biloxi. A prayer will end the visitation at the funeral home. Graveside services and burial will be at 2:30 p.m. at Biloxi National Cemetery, 400 Veterans Avenue in Biloxi.
Pallbearers at the funeral will be brothers, Russ Biffle, Mike Biffle and Scott Biffle; brothers in law, Lonnie Morris, Randy Ray and Claude Sexton "Hootie" Wooten; and friends Paul Hampton and Blake Kaplan.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the local Humane Society and/or Goodwill .
An online obituary may be viewed at www.riemannfamily.com .