James M. Workman Jr.

Jim Workman devoted his life to helping others. A longtime Atlanta resident, he passed away peacefully on Saturday, February 12, 2011, three weeks short of his 89th birthday. He had lived in the house his family built in the Spring Lake neighborhood of Atlanta for more than 50 years.

Born March 5, 1922 in Raleigh, N.C. to James Minor Workman, Sr. and Mary Mayes Workman, Jim spent part of his childhood growing up in Winnsboro, S.C, where his grandfather was a longtime pastor of the Sion Presbyterian Church. Later he moved to Atlanta with his parents and his sister, Mary.

Jim served with the U.S. Air Force in France during World War II. Afterward, he obtained a mechanical engineering degree from Georgia Tech in 1950. Like his father, Jim was a designer, spending most of his career designing retail interiors for Rich’s Department Stores and others, spending 30 years with MEI in Atlanta. He worked with Alvin Ferst and others on the original designs for the Rich’s store at Lenox Square Mall.

More significant, perhaps, than his many years of drafting and design work, was Jim’s devotion to others. He and his family were longtime members of North Avenue Presbyterian Church and Jim was later a member of Peachtree Presbyterian Church. At Peachtree, he was an active participant in the Atlanta Ministry with International Students, through which he hosted many students at his home over the years.

Following years of devoted care for his beloved mother until her death at the age of 101, Jim opened his home to various individuals in need and helped them get back on their feet. One, a technology worker from Brazil, credits Jim with saving his eyesight when he took him into his home, helped him obtain medical treatment and gave him a place to recuperate.

Jim was also devoted to his immediate and extended family. He hosted many dinners over the years that were famous among extended family members for good times and lavish desserts. In his later years, despite his declining health, Jim retained his unique sense of humor and concern for others. He was popular among families in his neighborhood, helping to organize the neighborhood directory, attending dinner parties, and sending handwritten thank you notes and his homemade cheese straws. Even during his last days at Piedmont Hospital, his wit never waned. When a nurse apologized for having to check his vital signs again, he responded, “Do I still have any?”

Jim is survived by numerous cousins in Atlanta and South Carolina. A memorial service will be held in the Kellett Chapel of Peachtree Presbyterian Church at 4:00pm on Saturday, February 19, 2011, with Dr. Steve Huntley and the Rev. Fahed Abu-Akel presiding. In lieu of flowers, gifts in memory of Jim Workman may be made to the Memorial Fund of the Sion Presbyterian Church, P.O. Box 556, Winnsboro, SC 29180.

Arrangements under the direction of H.M. Patterson & Son, Spring Hill in Atlanta, GA.