James T. Seay

COLUMBIA – James Thomas Seay, Jr., 77, went to his eternal rest with the Lord on Wednesday, November 27, 2013. A long time resident of the Columbia area, Jim, as his friends called him, was a well recognized figure on the local sports scene, both as a sports announcer and a columnist for the Irmo News.

Jim was born in Columbia, SC on January 3, 1936. He was a son of the late, Nell Drake and James Thomas Seay, Sr. Jim began doing commercial work when he was eleven. He attended the University of South Carolina before joining the United States Marine Corp. After his military duty, he returned to public broadcasting which took him to various stations in Virginia, Delaware and Texas before he returned “home” to the Columbia area. Jim worked with WGH in Newport, VA in 1957 and he was a regular fixture at the Columbia Speedway as a Public Announcer. Jim was a radio announcer for WIS starting when he was 17 with Bob Fulton. He worked with WNOK and WCOS. Jim was a sports broadcaster for sports and NASCAR races. He was a true sports lover. “He never met a sport he didn’t like,” according to his wife. In later years Jim opened his own advertising agency as a commercial and newspaper writer.

Surviving are his loving wife of 56 years, the former Mary Myers and their five children, Elizabeth (Mike) Cameron, Linda (Jeff) Angstadt, Donna (Donnie) Hill, Tom (Suzanne) Seay and Paul Seay; 9 grandchildren; 7 great-grandchildren; sisters, Gloria (Bob) Ziemer and Nancy (Billy) Sellers; brothers, Bill Seay, Mark (Chris) Seay and Ray Seay.

A Celebration of Life Service will be held at 2:00 p.m. Sunday, December 1, 2013 at Caughman-Harman Funeral Home, Irmo/St. Andrews Chapel. The family will receive family and friends after the service at the funeral home chapel. There will be a reception following the services at the home of Gloria and Bob Ziemer.

Memorials may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, 3223 Sunset Blvd., Suite 100, West Columbia, SC 29169 or to the American Cancer Society, 128 Stonemark Lane, Columbia, SC 29210 or to the Special Olympics, South Carolina, 1276 Assembly Street, Columbia, SC 29201.