Jim Herford

Graveside services for Jim Herford will be held Saturday, September 26, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. at Gardens of Memory Cemetery in Minden, Louisiana, with Bro. Leon Boggs officiating.

Born on New Year’s Eve in 1936, Jim lived almost 90 years before passing away on September 18, 2026, in Minden, Louisiana.

Jim spent much of his working life on the water as a tugboat captain, working 30 days on the boat and coming home for two weeks at a time. His days aboard were spent six hours on and six hours off, which may help explain Jim's well-known ability to fall asleep just about anywhere, including, on occasion, while captaining the tugboat. There was even a sensor to wake him up when he dozed off. Somehow, Jim and the tugboat both lived to tell the tale, although two bridges were impacted over the years.

Years of jumping off tugboats on the same leg left him with one leg shorter than the other. It gave him a walk that was unmistakably his own, but it never kept him from going where he wanted to go. Jim did most things at his own pace, and that pace was rarely fast.

Jim was a handsome man, and he knew it. He had a head of hair he was mighty proud of, a smile that could get him just about anything he wanted, and enough charm to get himself into, and out of, just about any situation.

His granddaughters nicknamed him “The Mouth of the South,” and the name fit. Jim wanted to know everybody’s business, enjoyed a good story, and was never one to let a little gossip go to waste. He especially enjoyed breakfast with his buddies. At least once, Jim said something that got him on the wrong side of his regular breakfast crowd, so he simply found another group to eat with.

In his 70s, Jim discovered he enjoyed riding ATVs and attending events like Muddy Bottoms. Growing older did very little to convince him he needed to act his age.

Jim loved to eat but he could also cook a few things on his own. He was especially known for his white beans, though preparing them required a level of inspection usually reserved for quality control. He meticulously checked every single bean to make sure there wasn't a rock hiding among them. If Jim served you beans, you could eat them with confidence.

Then there was the tattoo. For years, Jim claimed he had a tattoo of a naked woman somewhere his family couldn't see. Despite years of curiosity, he never provided proof, and apparently decided that was one secret he was capable of taking to the grave.

Jim was married three times and, being a practical man, wore the same baby blue suit to two of his weddings. But the love of his life was Bobbie Jean Herford, whom he called “Precious.” Bobbie knew Jim well enough to tease that he could never stand being alone and would marry the first “hussy” who said yes if she died before him. Jim told her she was wrong. After she passed, he never remarried.

Whatever else came and went in Jim’s life, Bobbie remained Precious.

Jim was preceded in death by his parents, I.D. and Sarah Herford; his siblings Robert Herford, Edith Herford, Dorothy Herford, Willie "Bill" Herford, Norma "Fain" Herford, and Thomas "Maurice" Herford; his son Tony Herford; his beloved wife, Bobbie Langheld Herford; his stepson Steve Sanders and his stepdaughter, Cindy Sanders Smith.

He is survived by his sons, John Herford and Jim "Bull" Herford the 2nd of Lake Charles; his sister, Loretta Herford Williamson; his brother, Benford Herford of DeRidder; son-in-law, Ken Smith of Minden; grandchildren, Cody Herford, Haley Manuel, Tiffany Costello, and Ashley Sanders; and great-grandchildren, Remi Costello, Grayson Manuel, and Dawson Manuel.

Jim was known to many simply as Pawpaw. He was handsome, charming, funny, full of mischief, and never short on something to say. He moved through life at his own pace, usually with a story to tell, somebody's business to discuss, and that famous smile working in his favor.

Those who knew him will remember the hair, the smile, the stories, and a personality big enough to earn him the title “Mouth of the South.”