Git Shiu, “Ms. Jimmie” or “Sue” Joe, 98, of Germantown, Maryland, and former owner of Jimmie’s Food Market in Indianola, Mississippi, passed away peacefully at home on April 15, 2026.

She is being buried alongside her husband at Indianola Memorial Garden cemetery in Mississippi:

  • The visitation will be on Sunday, May 3, 2026 from 1pm until 2pm at the Burton Funeral Home in Indianola.
  • The funeral service will follow at 2pm at the funeral home.
  • The burial will be at Indianola Memorial Garden (Search “Redmon Funeral Home” on Google Maps)
  • A reception and meal will follow at the BB King Museum.

Grandma was born on March 3, 1928, in a rural part of Guangdong province near modern day Taishan, China. After surviving the Japanese invasion during WWII, she immigrated to the United States to marry her husband in 1948. They met on a precursor to Match.com.

Like many of the Mississippi Delta Chinese of the time, she moved to rural Mississippi during the Jim Crow Era, not because of its affinity for immigrants, but because it was where a welcoming and supportive community of earlier trailblazers awaited with open arms to help her build a new life.

And she took to her new adventure. She became fluent in English and versed herself in the running of the store. She became a socialite in the thriving Delta Chinese community. She was a supportive wife and a devoted mother of five.

Her husband died unexpectedly in 1971, leaving her to manage the store and raise their two, youngest children (then ages 5 and 6). Yet, grandma not only survived—she thrived. She built one of the largest retail empires on Second Street long before anyone had ever heard of Wal-Mart.

She pioneered innovations like just-in-time delivery, demand-based pricing, and AgI (Astute Grandma Intelligence). More importantly, she understood her most valuable customers—the end cap candy display was always well stocked with Ninja Turtle gummies and fruit roll ups.

Grandma was also a badass. She didn’t need security cameras or hired help. She was her own private security contractor.

But after vanquishing a few too many would-be robbers with her baseball bat, Grandma made the difficult decision to exit the retail business. She became a full-time grandma to her three, oldest grandchildren in 1991.

She took the lessons from more than 40 years in retail and applied them to her grandchildren. She almost certainly cheated at Monopoly. She was uncannily good at Go Fish, but she was always the Old Maid.

After nearly 60 years in Mississippi, Grandma grew tired of the heat and humidity. She moved to Gaithersburg, Maryland in 2011, to be grandmother to two more grandchildren.

Always prescient, in 2015, in California, grandma declared, “Grandma ain’t like she used to, it’s day to day now.” Yet, Grandma lived on for another decade, determined to ensure her family’s happiness and success.

Grandma came to this land a young immigrant. She saw the great work laid out before her. And she conquered the American Dream in ways which historians are still studying and documenting.

Grandma was a star. She was brilliant and strong. She was the most loving grandma any grandson could have hoped for.

Grandma, we love and miss you.

Map of Git Siu Joe’s Funeral Events