James D. Hembree

James Donald Hembree passed away peacefully on September 29, 2020 at the age of 92. He was born in El Dorado, Arkansas in 1928, the youngest of six siblings, to Daniel Monroe Hembree and Mary Ann Lewis Hembree. He attended Jones Elementary School and Parkers Chapel School. He graduated from El Dorado High School in June 1949 and immediately joined the Navy. His service in the Korean War on the USS The Sullivans instilled a lifelong pride and love of country.

Upon his discharge, he enrolled at the University of Denver to prepare for his career as a teacher, later earning his Master of Education at the University of Alaska. At DU in 1954, he met the love of his life, Carol Irene Jones. The couple were married on December 7, 1956 and began a journey together that lasted 62 years.

Since reading Jack London’s Call of the Wild as a boy, Jim wanted to go to Alaska. In July 1957, he and Carol headed north in a beat-up car with all their belongings. That fall, they arrived in Hoonah, Alaska where they made their home for nearly three decades. They taught in the winter, fished commercially in the summer, and raised three sons. They moved away from Hoonah in 1983 but continued to return each year to fish. In later years, they lived in El Dorado and Pangburn, Arkansas.

Jim was adopted into the Kaagwaantaan Clan of the Huna Tlingit and was given the name Xeel’ee eesh by Kaagwaantaan elder Robert Grant, Sr. He treasured the honor of the adoption and was accepted into the Huna Tlingit as one of their own. He served three years as a Hoonah City Councilman, was an Elder in the Hoonah Presbyterian Church, and co-founded the short-lived Hoonah Lumber Company.

Jim loved the outdoors: salmon and halibut fishing, hunting, gardening, and watching things grow. He was proud of his students in math, physics, and Hoonah history. To his children he imparted his love of learning, delight in nature, and strength of mind and self-determination. No words can express our gratitude for his life, our grief at his passing, and the pride with which we carry on his legacy.

He is preceded in death by his wife Carol, his five siblings Marie, Garland, Lois, Odie, and Syble, and by his adoptive brother, George Dalton, Sr. of Hoonah.

He is survived by his three children James Monroe, Forest Harold (Barbara), and Bradley Paul; his grandchildren Hollee, Kellee, and Alexee; his great grandchildren Raguel and Evelynn; and his niece Ann Eudy (Don) and nephew Gary Moore (Carolyn).

Services will be held at 2:00 p.m. Saturday, October 10, at Scotland Presbyterian Church in Junction City, Arkansas with Rev. Rebecca Spooner officiating. Interment will follow at Old Parker's Chapel Cemetery under the direction of Young’s Funeral Directors.

An online memorial can be found at www.youngsfuneralhome.com.