Miles Nelson Peden, Jr., aged 49, passed away unexpectedly of natural causes on Thursday, February 25th, 2021 at his home in Madison, MS.
Nelson was born to Miles and Joyce Peden on November 17th, 1971 in Yazoo City, MS, at Kings Daughters Hospital. He was the younger brother and best friend to his sister, Angel. Nelson attended school in Flora, MS, playing high school football for Tri-County Academy. He was a member of their 1991 graduating class. He found his passion working at the Flowood Fire Department, from there he went on to attend the MS Fire Academy. He also furthered his fire-fighting career by attending numerous state fire academies around the country. He went on to work with numerous departments including Flowood Fire Department, Ridgeland Fire Department, Gluckstadt Fire Department, NEFCO Fire Investigations, and most recently AMR of MS. His life was dedicated to that of caring for all his family, friends, and the greater community.

He met the love of his life, Tara, in Ridgeland, MS in September 2002. Tara walked into Nelson and his best friend's apartment and it was love at first sight. The two of them were inseparable from that moment forward. He married Tara on December 4th, 2003 in Cancun, Mexico. Hawaii was a favorite vacation spot. They welcomed the light of Nelson's life, his son Miles Rowan on July 12th, 2011, when being a father became his newest passion in life. Father and son were inseparable after that, and what Nelson did, so did Rowan, from cooking to fishing to golfing. He loved to work on both cars and in his gardens.

Nelson was a member of the Smoke Dawg BBQ cooking team and won numerous awards with his buddies. A deep love for the MS State Bulldogs was shared by all three of them as referenced in the spelling of the team name. It was Nelson's idea for this name since this was his firehouse nickname because he was always cooking something. The boys started cooking together in 2007 and BBQ competition was never the same. This love of cooking was something he enjoyed sharing and teaching Rowan.

Nelson is survived by his wife Tara, and son Rowan. He is survived by his parents, Miles and Joyce, his sister Angel (Ryan) of Alexandria, LA; his stepdaughter Juliann (Jayce) of Hattiesburg, MS; numerous aunts, uncles and cousins in Madison County, MS.

The funeral service will be held on Monday, March 1st, 2021 at 1:00 pm at Wright & Ferguson Funeral Home at 114 Burney Drive, Flowood, MS 39232. The interment will immediately follow at Flora Cemetery at 291 1st Street, Flora, MS 39071. Visitation for family, friends and co-workers is from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm.

In lieu of flowers, a savings account has been established for the needs of Tara and Rowan in the coming years. The link is https://www.facebook.com/donate/484509429598754