Cecil Wayne Sowell

Cecil Wayne Sowell, (83), went to be with our Lord and Savior on November 8, 2026. Cecil was born to the late Leland and Anita Glenn Sowell on November 16, 1942 at Love, MS in the home of his grandfather Clyde Webb Glenn. He graduated in 1960 from Treadwell High School in Memphis. A 1964 honors graduate of Auburn University, he was also a member of the Scabbard and Blade military honorary society, the academic honor society Phi Kappa Phi and a Distinguished Military Graduate. His name appears in the lobby of the McWhorter School of Building Science and the South Plaza at Jordan-Hare Stadium in recognition of his support of academics and athletics at the university.

He served in West Germany with the 82d Engineer Battalion (Combat) as a platoon leader, company commander and operations officer, earning the Army Commendation Medal for meritorious service. He began a career in highway design in 1967 that extended to 2011 and included projects in seven states for consulting firms, including Harland Bartholomew & Associates. In 1974 he designed and built the mobile cage for TOM the tiger and was then President of the Highland Hundred in 1977 and of the Engineers Club of Memphis in 2006. In 2011, he founded the DeSoto County Touchdown Club and led it for nine years. A Life Member of the Auburn Alumni Association, he was inducted into the George Petrie Society in 2012 for his continuing support of the university. He served the Fellowship of Christian Athletes following retirement from his engineering career and was recognized as Man of the Year by the Southaven Chamber of Commerce in 2014. The first FCA Willing Vessel award went to him in 2022 in recognition of his fundraising success. He was a church speaker for the Gideons International, a member of the Board at the Calvary Rescue Mission, the House of Grace and the DeSoto Prayer Council and was a long-time member of Hernando Baptist Church.

He is survived by his son Clint Sowell of Collierville, daughter Ashley Bentow (Jason), granddaughters Olivia, Kate, Blair and Piper of Argyle, TX; sister Gail Mays of Southaven and brother Donnie Sowell of Nesbit.

Visitation will be held on Friday, November 13, 2026 from 11:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. at Hernando Baptist Church located at 11 E. Center St. Hernando, Mississippi 38632. A Military Honors funeral service will follow at 1:00 p.m. at the church, where military honors will be rendered in recognition of his service to our country. Interment will be at Forest Hill Memorial Park - South located at 2545 E. Holmes Rd., Memphis, Tennessee.  

In lieu of flowers please consider donations to FCA of Desoto County.