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'''Horace Lavelle Merideth, Jr.''', known as '''Sonny Merideth'' (December 7, 1930 – September 5, 2017), was a [[lawyer]] from Greenville, [[Mississippi]], who served as a [[Democratic Party|Democrat]] in the Mississippi House of Representatives from 1960 to 1992. Active in my legislative fields, he worked to bring casino [[gambling]] to his state.

'''Horace Lavelle Merideth, Jr.''', known as '''Sonny Merideth''' (December 7, 1930 – September 5, 2017), was a [[lawyer]] from Greenville, [[Mississippi]], who served as a [[Democratic Party|Democrat]] in the Mississippi House of Representatives from 1960 to 1992. Active in my legislative fields, he worked to bring casino [[gambling]] to his state.

==Background==

==Background==

Merideth was born at home in Swiftwater, Mississippi, to Horace Lavelle "Red" Merideth (1911-1986), a native of Doddsville, Mississippi, and the former Cassel Elizabeth Merideth, subsequently Cassel Pitman (1915-1994). He was reared in James, Mississippi, at which he worked as a boy in father's country store. He graduated in 1948 from Riverside Consolidated High School in Washington County and received his undergraduate degree in [[accounting]] in 1952 from Mississippi State University in Starkville. He was commissioned a second lieutenant under the ROTC program in the [[United States Air Force]]. He served in the [[Korean War]] and was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, the [[United Nations]] Service Medal, and the Korean Service Medal. He was stationed at Itazuke Air Force Base near Fukuoka, [[Japan]], when his older son, David, was born in 1955. After his military service, Merideth moved in 1956 with his family to Oxford, Mississippi, to enroll at the [[University of Mississippi]] School of Law. He graduated in 1958 and opened a solo law practice in Greenville and later formed a partnership with attorney James Robertshaw.<ref name=findagrave/>

Merideth was born at home in Swiftwater in Washington County, Mississippi, to Horace Lavelle "Red" Merideth (1911-1986), a native of Doddsville in Sunflower County, Mississippi, and the former Cassel Elizabeth Merideth, subsequently after the parent's divorced, Cassel Pitman (1915-1994). He was reared in James, Mississippi, at which he worked as a boy in father's country store. He graduated in 1948 from Riverside Consolidated High School in Washington County and in 1952  received his undergraduate degree in [[accounting]] from [[Mississippi State University]] in Starkville. He was commissioned a second lieutenant under the ROTC program in the [[United States Air Force]]. He served in the [[Korean War]] and was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, the [[United Nations]] Service Medal, and the Korean Service Medal. He was stationed at Itazuke Air Force Base near Fukuoka, [[Japan]], when his older son, David, was born in 1955. After his military service, Merideth moved in 1956 with his family to Oxford, Mississippi, to enroll at the [[University of Mississippi]] School of Law. He graduated in 1958 and opened a solo law practice in Greenville and later formed a partnership with attorney James Robertshaw.<ref name=findagrave/>

==Political career==

==Political career==