Jim was born and raised in Douglasville, Georgia. He enlisted in the United States Army Air Corp and served in Okinawa in WWII. After the war he was stationed at Castle Air Force Base. While there, he met his wife Fern, and they were happily married for more than 70 years. They made their home in Merced and raised 2 sons.
In the 1950’s Jim owned the Texaco station in Merced. From there he was a sales manager for Pepsi, Service Paper and Central Janitorial Supply.
Jim had a love of the mountains, especially Mariposa where he enjoyed having a weekend cabin for over 40 years. They also resided there in the 1980’s and then returned back to Merced 1989.
Jim was very active in various clubs and organizations over the years, but the dearest to his heart was the Valley Vintage Car Club, where he was a past president. Jim had a love of classic cars, enjoyed car shows, parades, swap meets and especially the camaraderie of friends and the people he met.
He is preceded in death by his mother Fay Brooks and brother Eddie Black.
He is survived by his wife Fern, sons Greg (Donna) and Rick (Cindy), grandsons Richard (Devynne), Ryan (Nikky), and Chad (Bobbi) and great grandchildren Preslee, Lilee, Hank and Tyler, brother Robert Black of Georgia and sister Mary Myers of Georgia.
A visitation will be held on Thursday, October 17, 2019 from 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. at Stratford Evans Merced Funeral Home located a 1490 B Street, Merced, California 95341. A graveside service will be held on Friday, October 18, 2019 beginning at 11:00 a.m. at Merced District Cemetery located at 1300 B Street, Merced, California 956341. The family would like to thank Lamerson Landy Care for the wonderful care Jim received the past year.
