William T James Sr.

William T. ”Bill” James Sr., Age 87, of Niceville, FL and then Tallahassee, FL passed away on March 10th, 2020. He was born in Palmyra Township near Hawley, PA on June 5th, 1932.Bill graduated from Honesdale High School, and he received a master’s degree from University of North Florida in Health and Patient Education.

He was married to Annabelle Drake in July of 1956, and they celebrated 63 years of marriage. His devotion to his bride sustained him throughout the decades of life, and they remained close to the end.

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Bill served in the U.S. Army; he served at several installations, recruited on numerous posts, waged war in Korea and Viet Nam and retired from service at the rank of Major in 1973 to live the remainder of his life on the Gulf Coast of Florida. He then supervised modern residential construction projects in Destin and went on to managing real estate properties in Niceville.

Bill became a practicing Episcopalian, as an involved member of the laity, a choir member, lay reader, and vestry member, helping others through the churches of his community during his life. He was an integral part of outreach, refurbishing bikes for homeless and manning Destin’s Blue Door project, always working to help others. Always on a crew: He had a wicked sense of humor, enjoyed a good joke; he had a passion for sailing, fishing, playing poker and tinkering in his workshop.

Many of his cherished family have gone before him, parents Edwin “Bud” and Anna James and brother Edwin James of Hawley, PA; brother Donald James of Shalimar, FL and sister Emma James DePaolo of Deridder, LA.

Surviving members including his wife Annabelle Drake James; Karen James, Donald’s wife and Joe DePaolo, Emma’s husband. His daughters and their families: Jo Anna and Michael Rosciam of Tallahassee, FL; Catherine “Cass” and Pastor John D. Garrett of Smiths Station, AL – their son J. Kelson Garrett of Phenix City, AL their daughter and son-in-law Anna L. and Joshua P. Ford of Columbus, GA; Nancy K. and Charles “Chuck” T. Faircloth Jr – their sons Charles “Chad” James Faircloth III, Nicolas “Nick” Drake Faircloth and Jacob Langston Faircloth of Tallahassee, FL; William “Buck” or “Ted” T. and Patricia James Jr of Gig Harbor, WA – their son William T. “Will” James III of Seattle, WA and daughter C. Eden James of Brooklyn, NY.; There are many nieces, nephews, cousins, in-laws, out-laws, married-ins, married-outs, ex’s and o’s, employees and friends.

Private cremation arrangements were performed, and a memorial is planned in the near future of June, 2020, in Destin, FL and all are welcome to join the family in celebrating his life and sharing how we are all related through Bill! In his honor, please consider contributions to the Wounded Warrior project, his most important charity. (support.woundedwarriorproject.org/Donate).