Mr. James Carson Meredith Jr.

James Carson Meredith, Jr., 91, of Greensboro, died at home Monday January 21 following several years of declining health. Known by friends and family as Jim or ‘JC', he was born in Greensboro on December 3, 1921 to James C. and Bessie Ridge Meredith.

A funeral service will be held Thursday, 2:00 p.m., at West Market St. United Methodist Church by Rev. Bill Ellison, where he was a member. Burial will follow at Forest Lawn Cemetery with full military honors.

Jim attended Greensboro High School. At the age of 15, he began his printing career as a "printer's devil" at Allred Printing Company in Greensboro. Prior to the beginning of WWII he worked at the government printing office in Washington, D.C., and volunteered for the U.S. Navy in 1942, where he achieved the rank of Petty Officer 3rd Class. He was trained as a lithographer aboard ship, printing military maps and charts, and had the honor of hanging maps in the White House for President Franklin Roosevelt. After his honorable discharge from the Navy in 1945, he worked at Wilmington Printing Company in Wilmington, NC and Knox Litho in Knoxville. TN. He then entered Guilford College as an economics major, while working part-time at Greensboro Printing. Following graduation he became plant manager at Simpson Printing Company from 1953-56.

In 1956 he co-founded Meredith-Webb Printing in Burlington, NC and in 1965 he established Gate City Printing Company in Greensboro. In 1969 he joined Fisher-Harrison Printing Company, eventually serving as executive vice president. From 1979 to 1989 he was vice president of Greensboro Printing Company, working with one of his early mentors, Margaret Earle, and her son, Preston Earle. Jim ended his printing career as the president of PBM Graphics in Greensboro. He retired from PBM in 1995 and continued as a consultant for several years. He was highly regarded as a master lithographer and the companies he managed received numerous awards for excellence in color lithography from the Printing Industries of the Carolinas. He was sought by NC artist Bob Timberlake to produce several print series of his paintings. In the early 90s Jim began a second career as a home builder, first as co¬founder of Johnson-Meredith Builders and later with his son-and-law Bill Parks at J&B Builders.

He learned his love of woodworking from his father, who died when Jim was only 9 years old. He was an accomplished craftsman who found pleasure in reproducing antiques and filled his home and the homes of his children with dozens of furniture pieces. In his capacity as a woodworker, he worked with the Greensboro Boys Club in the 1950s and the Greensboro Arts Council in the 1980s. He led find-raising activities for the Page High School Band Boosters, serving as its president in the late 1980s, and for Boy Scout Troop 109. He was active in the YMCA Indian Guides and Princesses as well as the Greensboro Civitan Club. He loved to Jitterbug, travel, fish, and spend time with his long-haired Dachshunds.

He was preceded in death by his parents, by his two sisters, Lucille Venezia and Elizabeth Cantrell Ham, and by twin brothers Jack and Jerry Meredith. He is survived by his wife of 44 years, Karen Whitley Meredith; four children: Pamela Euliss and husband Danny, Patricia Parks and husband Bill, Carson Meredith and wife Jenna, and Kristin Thompson and husband Ashley; ten grandchildren and three great-grand children as well as many nieces and nephews. He had a gift with children and was affectionately known as Daddy, Poppy, and Grandpa Jim.

Family and friends will be received Thursday, 1:00-2:00 p.m., prior to the service, in the Gathering Space at the church and following the service at the family’s home. Mr. Meredith will lie in state Wednesday from 12:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m., at Hanes-Lineberry N. Elm Chapel, for those wishing to pay their respect.

Contributions may be made to Victory Junction, 4500 Adams Way, Randleman, NC 27317, Camp Weaver YMCA, 4924 Tapawingo Trail, Greensboro, NC 27406, or West Market St. United Methodist Church Radio Fund, 302 W. Market St., Greensboro, NC 27401.

Online condolences may be made at www.haneslineberryfuneralhomes.com.