Brandon McArthur

Brandon Levi "Brother" McArthur died Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016, at his home in Jackson.

His parents, BJ and Lisa, and sister, Brittany, were by his side. Brandon struggled since birth with A-T, a rare neurodegenerative, recessive genetic disease, causing progressive loss of muscle control, immune system problems and a high rate of cancer, which Brandon was diagnosed with March 20, 2015.

Brandon was born Jan. 11, 1992, in Cape Girardeau, to Lisa Michelle Maddox and James William "BJ" McArthur Jr.

In his short time with his family and friends, he lived life to the fullest, and he never met a stranger. He was a 2011 graduate of Jackson High School. In younger years, he was active in Scouting and was the top-seller of popcorn every year.

When his sister, Brittany, swam competitively, he was her No. 1 fan -- well, at least he was at all of her competitions.

He was a captain with MyTEAM Triumph Southeast, an athletic ride-along program created for children, teens, adults and veterans with disabilities who would normally not be able to experience endurance events such as triathlons or road races.

One of Brandon's favorite places was Las Vegas. He liked playing casino games, especially the slots.

In 2010, the McArthur family purchased a rock crawler known as "The Short Bus." They enjoyed going to the Trucks Gone Wild off-road events at Brick's in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, and Bikini Bottoms in Dyersburg, Tennessee.

Loving survivors include his parents, BJ and Lisa McArthur of Jackson; his sister, Brittany McArthur of Jackson; maternal grandmother, Kathy Maddox of Jackson; paternal stepgrandmother, Emilie McArthur of St. Louis; maternal uncle, Mark (Sandy) Maddox of Covington, Tennessee; maternal aunt, Kim Boone of Pea Ridge, Arkansas, (Glenn Boone of Malden, Missouri); maternal cousins, Diana (Nick) Bryan and daughter, Chloe of Covington, Holly and Natalie Maddox of Covington, Whitney (Nathan) Montgomery and daughters, Madison and Lydia of Pea Ridge and Kailee Boone of Pea Ridge; a paternal half aunt, Becky (Robert) Mikesell of St. Louis; a paternal half uncle, Stephen McArthur of St. Louis; and many, many dear friends.

He was preceded in death by his maternal grandfather, Billy Gene Maddox; paternal grandfather, James McArthur; paternal grandmother, Linda McArthur; and paternal great-grandparents, Charles and Virginia Beis.

A memorial visitation will be from 10 a.m. to service time Saturday at McCombs Funeral Home and Cremation Center in Jackson.

A memorial service will be at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at the funeral home, with the Rev. Kevin Mann officiating, assisted by Pete Moore.

In death, Brandon was a donor to A-T research, and it is the wish of the family memorials take the form of contributions to the A-T Children's Project, 5300 West Hillsboro Blvd., Suite 105, Coconut Creek, FL 33073. To learn more, visit www.atcp.org.

Online condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.mccombsfuneralhome.com.