Richard Allen Tinsley

Master Sergeant Richard Allen Tinsley, USAF Retired, a resident of Ocean Springs, MS., was called to his Eternal Home on July 1, 2007. Mr. Tinsley was born in Meridian, MS., on July 23, 1929, and graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi with a Masters Degree in secondary education. He was an Industrial Arts teacher at Vancleave High School for ten years, receiving many community awards for scholastic and moral achievement. A man who placed God and Integrity above all else, he will be remembered as a pillar of strength and faith. Dick accomplished many goals throughout his full and amazing life. A renaissance man in many aspects; the first to travel not only round the world in his military career, but as a lifelong motorcyclist, he was the first to travel from the U.S. to and throughout Mexico and Central America on his trusted BMW R90 steed. He was a member of the American Motorcycle Association and original chapter member of BMW Riders of MS. He was a crusader and instructor promoting motorcycle safety and community respect. Dick will be truly missed by his immediate family and friends and his extended Master Grill family, whose lives he has touched and influenced through the years. A Roman Catholic, he was an active member of the Knights of Columbus Council #5654 at St. Alphonsus Catholic Church in Ocean Springs. Mr. Tinsley was preceded in death by his wife, Geneva Faircloth Tinsley, son, Thomas Walter Fellows, and his parents, Clayton H. Tinsley, Nannie Mae Tinsley and Willie Mae "Bill" Tinsley. Survivors include two sons, Michael Allen (Lori) Tinsley of Houston, TX., and Petty Officer David Allen Fellows, USN Retired, and wife Betty, of Ocean Springs, MS., two grandsons, Michael A. Fellows and Dustin A. Fellows, both of Ocean Springs, and a great-grandson, Aidan Michael Fellows of Sumter, SC. Visitation will be on Wednesday, July 4, 2007, from 5-8 PM, at the Ocean Springs Chapel of Bradford O'Keefe Funeral Home. On Thursday, July 5, 2007, there will be an 11 AM Mass of Christian Burial, at St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, where friends may visit from 10-11 AM. In lieu of flowers the family prefers donations be made to the American Diabetes Association, #16 Northtown Drive, Suite 100, Jackson, MS., 39211, or to the American Heart Association, P.O. Box 8272, Gulfport, MS., 39506.