James C Sumner

Jim Sumner was born in Marianna, Arkansas, on March 11, 1925. He was the first boy born to Myrtle and Claude Sumner after having four girls first. Three more boys came along after Jim, but two died in infancy. The fourth boy, his brother Mike, was 13 years younger.

Jim was so anxious to join the military as soon as they would accept him, that when he turned 18 in March of his senior year, he didn’t bother with graduating from high school first, but enrolled instead. After being tested, they told him he was a candidate for Officer’s Training School, so he went into training for that. When he graduated, he was a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army Air Force, training to be a pilot.

Jim caught the tail end of WWII, so was not sent overseas, but he still logged plenty of hours flying large transports back and forth across the country. One day while he was still in flight school, he flew over his home and buzzed the house. His mother and sisters came out to see what was going on. Of course, his mom said he’d given her a fright and told him never to do that again.

When the war ended he remained in the Reserves, but they released him just before the Korean War began. By then he was married and had started a family. He met his wife Martha Claire Gibson at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro. His Officer Training School had given him enough college credits that he did not have to start as a Freshman, which was nice.

Martha and Jim got engaged 2 weeks after they met, but had another 5 months before they were married in November 1947. It must have worked since they lived long enough to celebrate their 61st anniversary. The first month they were married, they were at a big dance and won a new car. Their pictures were taken for the newspaper, and it was probably good advertising for the car agency.

Jim was friendly and did well in the field of sales. After initially working around Arkansas, he was transferred with Milani Foods to New Orleans in 1959. They enjoyed being invited to a private Mardi Gras Croux Ball that year. But they only lived there for a year before he had an invitation to come out to California and work for Blue Cross Health Insurance. This is where he stayed for the majority of his career.

Their firstborn daughter Susan was born in Little Rock, AR. After moving to California, their son Jim was born when they lived in their first property in Costa Mesa. Later, they moved around Orange County to Los Alamitos, Huntington Beach for the longest stretch, where both kids went to Edison High School, a short time in Fountain Valley, then Mission Viejo, and Costa Mesa again. A new job before retirement took Martha and Jim north to Santa Barbara and Camarillo before joining their daughter in Colorado for about 15 years. The last five years of Jim’s life were spent in an Assisted Living Center in Brea, CA.

Martha pre-deceased Jim by seven years, passing away in Lone Tree, CO. His four older sisters, Nell, Agnes, Virginia, and Bonnie all pre-deceased him. His brother Mike was much younger and is still healthy and living on his own in Como, Mississippi. Jim’s two children survive him along with four grandchildren in order of age: Luke and Shannon Willison, she is soon to be married to another Ryan, and Ryan and Eric Sumner. Jim lived to be 91.5 years old.

In lieu of flowers, the family would please ask you to make a donations to either the Alzheimer's Association or The Gideons International.

Arrangements under the direction of Funeraria del Angel Anaheim, Anaheim, CA.