Celebration of Life for Cayden Magee

Cayden Cortez Magee of Petal, MS passed away at the age of 18. He was born on November 16, 2007, to Quishe Magee. Cayden accepted Christ in his life at a young age. He was a member of Zion Chapel AME Church, where he served in the Young People's Department and was the AV Tech for services.

Cayden was a 2026 graduate of Petal High School where he excelled in every subject. As a senior, he was voted Best Personality and Class Favorite, which speaks to the joy and light he brought to everyone around him. He was a member of the Math Club, National Technical Honors Society, Interact Club, HOSA, Spanish Club, Beta Club and had received a membership to Mu Alpha Theta. He was loved by so many friends and teachers, and they helped shape the young man he had become.

Cayden planned to attend Mississippi State University in the Fall, where he would major in Biological Sciences with a concentration in Pre-Medicine. He received The Freshman Academic Excellence Scholarship from Mississippi State University, The 2026 Gene High Memorial Scholarship from The Petal Education Foundation, The Career & Technical Education Scholarship and The Academic Distinction Scholarship from Jones College, The Vice-Presidential Scholarship from Pearl River Community College and The Academic Excellence Scholarship from The University of Southern Mississippi.

While in school, he worked at McAlister’s Deli in Petal, where he touched many lives with simple acts of kindness and generosity.

This summer, Cayden was scheduled to complete an internship as a Youth Counselor with the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth at Roger Williams University in Bristol, Rhode Island.

In such a short amount of time, Cayden lived a full life. He loved to make anyone around him laugh with his dry humor and quirky facial expressions. He enjoyed spending time with all of his friends playing pickleball, eating at Zaxby’s, going to the mall & the movie theater and just riding in the car listening to music.

Cayden was preceded in death by his grandfather, Thomas L. Magee.

He leaves to cherish his memories, his mother, Quishe Magee, his brother, Chandler McGowan, his sister, Cameron Magee, his grandmother, Carolyn Magee, his Great-Grandmother, Ethel J. Nelson, his aunts, Quiyana Watts, Quijett Magee and Quijonia Magee(Horace Hayes), his cousins, Jamiah Newsome, Ian Anderson, Kyleigh Magee, Josiah Hayes and Harley Magee, extended family members and countless friends.

He will be missed terribly by all who loved him.