Marion Junior Ashley passed away on August 23, 2022 surrounded by his family in Ellisville at the age of 93.
Graveside service will be held Wednesday, at 9:00 AM August 24, 2022 at Mt Zion Methodist Church Cemetery on Graves Road in Ellisville. Ellisville Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangement.

He was born October 10, 1928 in Smith County, Mississippi. He was raised in the Center Ridge Community on Highway 37 between Taylorsville and Raleigh. He moved with his family several times until they settled in Jones County in the 1940s. He served in the United States Navy during the Korean War and was stationed at Port Hueneme in Oxnard, CA. After his service, he worked for Southern Railroad in the 1956. He worked for Southern Railroad for 34 years until his retirement in 1990.

He is preceded in death by his parents, John Wiley Ashley and Deltie Ashley Hankins; two sisters Mary Jewel and Virginia Ruth Fein; and his wife Mary Virginia Flynt Ashley, who passed on May 15th 2006.

He was known to most as "M.J." He married Mary Virginia Flynt on June 26, 1954, and they were married for fifty-two years. M.J. and Virginia built a house on Graves Road west of Ellisville near her parents and raised a family with love and all the necessities during the sixties and seventies.

He is survived by his five children Sherra Christine Browning (Billy), Mary Elizabeth Endom (Eddie), Marion Denise Messemore, Patricia Ann Knight (Pete), Daniel Richard Ashley (Ronda). He is also survived by numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

After retirement, M.J. spent most winters and springs outdoors hunting deer and turkey. He was passionate about hunting, especially with his hunting dogs.

online guestbook may be signed at www.ellisvillefuneralhome.com