By Jan Griffey

The Vicksburg Post

Beloved businessman and avid supporter of all things Vicksburg, Rowdy Nosser, died Sunday afternoon at University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson.

Nosser, 55, had been hospitalized since suffering a stroke on Aug. 18, the evening a show featuring his restaurant, Rowdy’s, aired on the Inspiration channel.

Angela Ladner, a family friend and consultant with Nosser’s two restaurant operations — Rowdy’s and Taco Casa — said Nosser’s condition simply never improved since undergoing surgery on the night he fell ill.

“On the last day that he was conscious, Rowdy was surrounded by a group of family and friends in his restaurant in what he felt was one of the highest moments in his career,” Ladner said.

Nosser closed his restaurant and hosted a private showing of the television program that featured his acclaimed Mississippi Mud Pie.

“That building was overflowing and there was pure joy on that man’s face,” she said.

Nosser’s family kept an around-the-clock vigil at his bedside since the moment he was hospitalized.

“His family followed all of the medical team’s advice,” Ladner said, but Nosser did not recover.

Riles Funeral Home will be in charge of arrangements, which are incomplete.

Visitation will be two hours before the funeral services, which will be held at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, Ladner said, but the date for the services hasn’t been finalized.

“Rowdy touched so many people’s lives in so many ways. That’s evident from the comments on the Recovery for Rowdy Facebook page,” she said. “Those comments will mean so much to the family grieving for him.”