Bobby Mooney, a dedicated public servant of the City of Collins, died Monday, January 24, 2022, at his residence.

His service to the city began in 1975 where he started in the electrical department. Shortly after in 1979, he was elected as alderman where he would serve for 42 years until his recent retirement in June 2021. He was dedicated to the growth and development of his beloved city and leaves behind the legacy of a leader in the community who was fair and treated everyone equally.

“Bobby committed most of his life to serving the residents of Collins. Even after he retired, he made sure that he stayed in contact with me concerning all aspects of the city and to make sure that we stayed on the path of progress,” said Collins Mayor Hope Magee Jones. “He will be missed.”

City Clerk Suzette Davis agreed.

“Bobby was dedicated to the City of Collins citizens and the employees. He took into consideration the feelings of citizens and employees when making decisions for the city. Bobby was not afraid to vote his voice even if it was unpopular, and I admired him for that. It was an honor and a pleasure to serve under his as the City Clerk for Collins. He has been missed since he retired and will be missed even more now,” said Davis.

During his lifetime of service, he was a part of the police station renovations, construction of the fire station and later addition to the fire station, restoration of the historic train depot, construction of the civic center and senior citizens center, the VO Smith courtyard and renovations to the library, Collins softball and baseball fields and Westside Park.

His strong leadership was recognized with the honor of a certified municipal official with the Mississippi Municipal League serving on the board of directors for nine years and was inducted into the Mississippi Municipal Hall of Fame in 2017.

Alderman Mooney was a part of obtaining numerous grants for the city including the Mississippi Development Authority, Small Municipal and Limited Populations Grants, Community Development Block Grants, Mississippi Department of Transportation, Crime Prevention Grants, Department of Justice, Mississippi Forestry Grant, Department of Homeland Security Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program,  Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Grants and the Southern Mississippi Planning and Development District Area Agency on Aging Grant.

Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. on Thursday, January 27, 2022, at the Collins Civic Center with visiting beginning at 11 a.m.

Bobby Mooney’s full obituary can be found here.