Samuel Barrie Bounds Dvm

Dr. Barrie Bounds,83. of Macon, MS passed away on Thursday, January 13, 2022 at UMMC, Jackson, MS.

A funeral service is planned for Monday, January 17, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. at First Baptist Church, Macon. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at the church. Interment will follow in Shuqualak Cemetery. Memorials may be made to First Baptist Church, P.O. Box 510, Macon, MS 39341. Cockrell Funeral Home is honored to be entrusted with arrangements.

Dr. Barrie, as he was known to many, entered the world on January 7, 1939 in Electric Mills, Mississippi, the second of four children born to the late S. B. Bounds and Rachel Duke Anderson Bounds. He graduated from Shuqualak High School in the late 1950s where he was a member of the football team and acted in high school plays. He continued his education at Mississippi State University and the Auburn University School of Veterinary Medicine, graduating in 1963. Later that same year, he joined the veterinary practice of Doctors Anderson and Bradshaw in Macon and began to care for the large and small animals of Noxubee County.  When Dr. Anderson retired, he became the sole proprietor of the veterinary practice, renaming it Noxubee Animal Clinic. In the early years of the practice, Dr. Bounds served many dairy and cattle farms, often going out to clients in the wee hours of the morning to deliver a calf, set a dog’s broken leg, or provide other emergency services. When a client needed help in the Spring of 1979, flood waters covered Highway 14 making it impossible to travel by vehicle, so Dr. Bounds hopped in a boat to attend to the client’s laboring cow. His dedication to his profession and his clients was undeniable and continued for almost 60 years. Although he had reduced hours and services in recent years, he continued working until the very week that he was called home.

The other great love of Dr. Barrie’s life was his dear wife, Sandra Hudnall Bounds. The two attended Shuqualak High School together, and according to Dr. Barrie, “She loved me from the time she was in the eighth grade.”  The two married on February 2, 1964, settled in Macon, raised three children, and were loving partners in life and work for the next 56 years. Dr. Barrie was a faithful and loving caregiver to MIss Sandra in her later years, driving her twice a week to her Parkinson’s support group and napping in the car while she exercised and socialized. After her passing in 2020, he mourned her loss each day, though he found comfort in the company of family and friends and in reading her poetry.

Dr. Barrie always had a story to tell, some based on his hunting exploits and others on his experiences in his veterinary practice and working on his farm. He once attempted to rope a cow from a moving truck, fell off and broke his collarbone. While clearing a beaver dam at his farm, he was bitten on the hand by a water moccasin. Never one to panic, he sucked the poison out of his hand, drove himself to his veterinary practice, treated the wound with an anti-inflammatory, and then went to the hospital for help. Trimming trees, burning brush, and feeding the fish in his pond all led to brushes with death, but like a cat with nine lives, he lived to tell about it. He told many entertaining stories, and these stories, his laugh, and his fierce, independent spirit will be missed by all who knew him.

Along with being a hardworking veterinarian, loving husband, and dedicated father, Dr. Barrie was an active member of his community. He was a longtime member of the Macon Lions Club, serving in many roles including president and secretary. For his service to the Club, he was selected as Lion of the Year. He also served on the Board of Directors for Central Academy for several years, and as the president of the Board in 1985. He was a faithful member of First Baptist Church in Macon, Mississippi where he taught Sunday School for many years. He loved to hunt and fish and spent many hours on his beloved farm with his son, grandchildren, and other family members and friends stalking the  deer and turkey of Noxubee County. He loved to fish with his grandchildren in the pond next to his house, and his green thumb was legendary to those blessed to know him. He was generous with the fruits of his gardens, keeping friends and family supplied with tomatoes, squash, beans, peas, corn, turnip greens, pears, and figs. Although he loved to read his wife’s poetry most of all, he was a voracious reader who always had a novel and his heavily annotated Bible at his bedside.

Dr. Barrie is preceded in death by his parents and his beloved wife. Survivors include two sisters: Sarah Young of Tupelo, MS and Ann Reddoch (Jimmy) of Aberdeen, MS; a brother Dr. Andy Bounds (Edna) of Shuqualak, MS; two daughters: Robin Horan (Rob) of Fayetteville, AR and Beth Eubank (Tom) of Greenville, MS; a son, Eric Bounds (Phyllis) of Steens, MS; and seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Dr. Barrie will be remembered by his family and friends for his larger than life presence, his love of the Lord, and his service and care for his profession, his community, and his family.