Page 115 - South Mississippi Living - October, 2026

Jeffrey O’Keefe
Jules O’Keefe
Christopher O’Keefe
Mac (AJ McMurphy IV and his
two sons, AJ “Bo” McMurphy and
AJ McMurphy Jr.
Perhaps that’s why these companies feel so distinctly at home in
South Mississippi.
The Coast knows something about rebuilding. It knows about
staying when leaving might be easier. And it recognizes that the
most worthwhile pursuits are often those too significant for any
one person to accomplish alone.
Jeremiah “Jerry” O’Keefe and Jamie Foxx as attorney Willie E.
Gary, was inspired by O’Keefe’s real-life legal battle against a
large funeral-home corporation.
At the heart of that fight was something generations of Coast
families understand well—protecting what a family has built.
Today, sixth-generation members of the O’Keefe family
continue the work begun more than a century and a half ago.
Five businesses. Five very different industries. Yet the lesson is
remarkably similar.
A successful family business requires more than sharing a last
name. Each generation has to earn the trust handed to it, preserve
what worked, and be willing to change when necessary.
SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living | www.smliving.net October 2026 | 115