The Mississippi Department of Transportation said officials and family members recently gathered at St. Paul CME Church in Bentonia to dedicate a segment of U.S. Highway 49 in Yazoo County as the “Colonel Donnell Berry Memorial Highway.”
Mississippi Transportation Commission Chairman Willie Simmons and members of the Berry family joined former Gov. Haley Barbour, Rep. Justis Gibbs, Sen. Kamesha Mumford and Rep. Timaka James-Jones of House District 51 at the ceremony, MDOT said.
MDOT said Col. Donnell Berry devoted more than 35 years to the Mississippi Highway Patrol and was appointed in 2011 by Gov. Haley Barbour as chief of the patrol. The department said he was promoted to the rank of colonel and served as director of the Mississippi Highway Patrol and assistant commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety.
The department said Berry was a native of Bentonia who maintained close ties to his hometown. MDOT said he was supported by his wife and was a father of three, and that he left a lasting impact on the highway patrol and the communities he served. MDOT posted photos of the dedication on its social media account, the agency said.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
