Jackson Jambalaya

The media and gossip sites drove him to it.
Goodbye my good friend.

Leslie

I think it's time to stop the criticism and start remembering that Stuart has 3 children, who may at some point read all of these comments.

No matter what you think or believe about Stuart doesn't always have to be shared. Some things are better left unsaid. Please have some class Mississippians.

My prayers go out to his family.

Leslie, surely you don't mean like the blog you posted on? Maybe his Internet and media access should have been limited. Surprising he was ever left alone. Very sad.

Maybe the Gov. Needed to do one more pardon.

Maybe journalistic ethics are different in Mississippi, but when did it become proper news reporting to publish a report on a suicide? I worked in TV for over a decade and we were instructed to not cover suicides. Too many crazies wanting to get their names in the news.

Rest in peace Stuart Irby.

Really don't know what else to say. What a tragedy all around for this family!

7:58, if it was me or John Doe Eastover who committed suicide, it wouldn't make the news. But Stuart Irby gets coverage because he's Stuart Irby and his father was Stuart Irby. The Irby family has been among the wealthiest and most influential in Jackson for decades. Irby Lighting was a HUGE business for Jackson, and still is, to some extent. It's not the fact that it's suicide that gets it in the news, it's the fact that it's Stuart Irby.

His whole story has been one of loss -- loss of life, loss of opportunity, loss of freedom, loss of function, etc. It's the kind of thing that great Southern novels are made of. It's one of the reasons the whole thing has fascinated the public.

I don't believe either Stuart are Karen were innocent -- but I also don't believe either were/are evil. No matter what I might personally feel about Stuart's behavior over the years, I can't help but sympathize with him some -- I can't imagine the kind of pain and despair that must have led him to suicide. Suicide is a selfish act, yes, but you don't do that to yourself or your loved ones -- especially your children -- until your own existence is so unbearable that you can't stand another minute alive.

Sad ending to a horrible, horible story.

Apparently the journalist above hasn't worked in journalism for a few centuries. Of course this is news.

That being said, we've all heard a lot about Irby's misdeeds. Can anyone share with us some good things he has done. Very few people are all bad and I would really like to know.

I think an autopsy needs to be performed on Stuart Irby. I don't doubt that he would have been capable of committing suicide, but I still think the police need to investigate his death extremely carefully before conclusively ruling it to be a suicide.

By age 58, Stuart Irby probably knew a lot of sensitive information about a lot of important people. But, in recent years, because of his emotional and mental condition, he had become something of a "loose cannon"--someone who no one but God could predict as to what he would do or say (or reveal) next. I would imagine that there might be some individuals who are actually relieved that Stuart Irby is now dead.

Sometimes an "apparent suicide" is truly a suicide. But sometimes it is something else. An autopsy needs to be performed.

8:53 you know he hung himself...right. I do not think an autopsy is neccessary to know that is a suicide.

Regardless it is sad no matter what action and terrible things surrounded the Irbys. All the family suffers. I think Frugal's 8:29 said it best.

Peace be with this family. My prayers for all of you.

maybe something as dramatic as this can bring some closure to this whole ordeal. this is very sad news and i wish the family the best but you never know his intentions... and he could have done this selflessly to bring closure to a bizarre roller coaster ride...

hinds county coroner is on record as saying there will be no autopsy. the body was sent directly to Wright and Ferg.

8:53 has their eyes wide open in this town. Something that is rare. Stuart had the goods on every crooked big name in the state. Choosing the day Karen got out makes sense, ending it with a hanging so people will think like 9:03 is just MO for some of the ones who could do it and get away with it. Not saying that's what happened, but I knew him well and this doesn't fit him. He's too... Stuart-y. Regardless: tragic, sad and this is not a peaceful end.

The chances of someone who died by hanging being anything other than an accident or a suicide is almost zero. There is no need to try to start the "he knew too much" angle.

I knew Stuart casually for decades. He was a good and productive person up until his father died. I think that event and the pressures it put on him are what changed him. I think this is common, for I know or have known persons who went into similar downward spirals when they lost a mother or father, and some never came out of it. His alcohol abuse, party lifestyle, and other bad behavior mostly started after the death of his dad. This doesnt excuse the behavior. Then of course the accident and his head injury just made it all worse.

There was a better Stuart Irby than that we have seen in the last years. I knew that person and prefer to remember him in that regard.

If you want a list of good things that Stuart and the Irbys have done, then it is a long, long list. You probably dont have the space for it to be posted. They helped a lot of Jacksonians and Mississippians, and Stuart was at the forefront of it all.

another victory for Alcohol

May Stuart M rest in peace. My prayers are with him and the family.

8:53, what do you think an autopsy would accomplish? I think you watch too much CSI on TV.

The coroner examines the body at the scene, so any trauma indicating a struggle could be spotted in that exam.

Let the man rest.

@9:51--you need to check your facts. "Choosing the day Karen got out makes sense" Karen got out last week.

I hope the sympathy that is shown for this person is shown for the families of the TWO innocent lives his wife took when she was driving drunk.

Then there are these comments I'm getting that are directed to me:

"I blame you xxxxxx as much as anyone, you are a coward and his death will haunt you forever. "

Now would be a good time for all to forgive so we as a community can move forward. No one in Jackson, MS is entitled to sit in final judgement of any human being no matter the deed. Prayers go out to the Irby Family and to each and every one of us.

Lets not have a blame game and have highland clan warfare. When you are a wealthy industrialist or city father you have to be able to stand up to public scrutiny. I witnessed first hand the young scion interview a new city commissioner at a local watering hole. It was an education for me to see the rich domineering over a public servant.

Kingfish, IGNORE the stupid uncalled for comments, and we are not interested in reading them either.

NO ONE IS MAKING ANYONE READ THIS BLOG NOW OR EVER. If you don't like what's here, the internet highway is a million miles long. Find something else.

Since this site's 'other' Irby thread is getting no traction, I'll bring my comment over here:

Studies reveal that buzzards begin to circle within 46 minutes of death.

It's illegal to kill a buzzard in Mississippi, but we can still gather here and watch them.

I'm intrigued by the post made by 10:52 but actuallly have a little different take. My understanding of the young Stewart was that he was a very free spirited sort of personality in a very rigid and domineering environment. If he could have lived in France, painted, played his music and drank Scotch whiskey without the complete diapproval of his father, he would have. But the expectation of him was much different and he "conformed" in a way that would be pleasing to his father and his family. His rebelliousness post death of his father may be the result of him finally being freed to be himself - and that the Stewart that we saw in the years since was finally the real Stewart.

There's no doubt that the brain injury left him compromised but his inner "wild child" is not to be denied. If we would have joined together to imagine a way to make this story any more dramatic or any more tragic, I'm not sure we would have come up with this. Frugal Gal said it beautifully, It's a story of immeasurable loss but perhaps a view of him through this particular lense will give us a greater understanding of who he really was.

MA

I have seen this time and time again, 4:21. When parents try to make their kids into something they don't want to be....disaster usually follows. Parents putting their pride before their child's needs or wants in life doesn't always work out in the best interest of the child.

Parents always want the best for their children, and I know Stuart Sr. did. Sometimes what is best for the parent isn't right for the child.

To continue to put Stuart down now that he's gone, is a disgrace. And, I hope all of you will remember the good things he did for Jackson and the state of MS. The brain injury didn't help his situation, no matter whose fault it truly was. None of us were in the car with them that night to be judging. The truth should have been told from the beginning instead of a year after when Karen was sentenced. It's hard to believe anyone who with held that truth for so long.

I can'r understand why my post got spiked when I very civilly posted two simple questions: what is the name of the coroner and what are his/her qualifications? In the land of Steven Haynes these are not unreasonable questions?

5:14---call the funeral home and ask them your questions. Appears to be Wright and Ferguson.

I'm perplexed by the statement, "The chances of someone who died by hanging being anything other than an accident or a suicide is almost zero."

So public hangings and lynchings are accidents or suicides?

When you love someone like a brother and you watch them miss salvation (and the Great Physician), it sucks.

One the other hand if you look at this tragedy like a samurai order fulfilling its final duty, it has a certain nobility.

Or thru the eyes of the victims, his wife, and children. The eyes of the doctors that he killed and their survivors.

what truth was it Jesus said...."let the one without sin be the first to cast a stone"

God rest his soul - prayers going up for his family and friends.

the poor man was tormented all of his life always having to be stuart irby. Having the name was hard to live up to but he did it justice until the last 6 or 7 years. he was a generous man and gave to so many who were in need. not just the local charities but people who would call him for their daily needs. he never looked down on anyone. he would always ask questions about a person he would meet. He was tormented as a small child by his parents leaving he and his siblings with nannys as they traveled to world. there was a lack of the warmth of an intimate love relationship ship with his father. None of the children every were good enough for Mr. Irby. He was demanding and almost cruel. His grandchildren wouldn't visit him and his children keep their distance. Having such a previliged life and a the emptiness felt from never feeling good enough lead to a depth of depression that he suffered from for years. Yet, he always was kind, friendly and generous all across the state. may god bless his soul and forgive him for his short comings. he was a christian and spent his life in service to his church in many ways. I pray for his children especially graham who was close to his father. His lose will never heal and you wonder if he will make it through all of this as he grows up. please remember the good that stuart did for so many and not the last 7 years which obviously were his undoing. money doesn't buy love nor will it replace a father...

Is he junior or senior?

Kingfish, your writing on this tragic situation is kind and touching. I pray all of those involved can find peace now, especially Stuart who it is now obvious to many of us on the outside that he did have issues prior and even more after the accident. This loss is sad and I for one feel terrible about having bad feeling about him after the accident. I will have to live with that and hope to understand things I have been told to make me doubt him. He and his family appear to be great benefactors to Jackson as well as the state. Let's all pray for his troubled soul that he may find the peace he apparently was hoping for. With money comes much hardship, responsibility, and pressure. Funny isn't it because many of us think that is all it takes to have a great life. Sadly, there are many other things more inportant. I do hope at some point he had the opportunity to feel true love as each of us deserve to feel. God bless his sould and all of those involved in this last several years of tragedies. It has been hard on many people. Please have compassion for his family as well as the Mother of his youngest child. Let's hope he will be able to survive this ordeal and someday find some understanding in this horrible set of circumstances. It is time to let the anger go...let's all try no matter which side you are own. God bless Stuart and have mercy on his soul and blessings for his children especially that sweet little boy.

stuart m irby sr.

his dad was stuart c irby jr

11:37 - WTF - spoken by someone who obviously doesn't know shit but sure can pretend to..