James "Jamie" Frederick Shern

A memorial service and celebration of Jamie's life will be held at 2:00pm on Saturday, June 4th at Brown-Wynne Funeral Home, 300 Saint Mary's St., Raleigh. A reception and time of visitation will follow the service at Brown-Wynne Funeral Home.

Jamie was born on September 23, 1967 in Santa Fe, NM. He was the son of Marian and the late Roald Shern. Jamie grew up in Derwood, MD and graduated from Magruder High School. He then attended North Carolina State University and obtained a BS degree in Forestry. Jamie held various positions for private companies after college, but the last 20 years was able to serve the public, holding positions in both state and federal agencies. He most recently worked at The North Carolina Department of Transportation, serving as an Environmental Policy Advisor to the Secretary’s Office, where he concentrated on laws and policies to support the department’s program and project delivery. Jamie’s individual assignments were often the ones that no one else could solve. In his own way, Jamie was always teaching someone about nature and the environment whether it was professionally or outside of work. This was evident when he volunteered on Saturdays at the museum to educate youth.

Jamie was a man defined by laughter and his quick wit. He was a devoted son, brother and friend. He was an avid fisherman and loved to be on the water, fishing pole in hand. He cherished his yearly fishing trip to Ocracoke, NC with his fishing buddies Bobby Lewis, Ronnie Keeter, Claude Ipock, Nathan Powers, Bill Bass, Leo Woodman, Jamie Lancaster and Troy Lewis. Jamie would always bring entertainment to the trip. He could encounter just a cup of water and would be soaking wet for the entire fishing trip. When the boat docked, he would often clarify butter so we could cook the “catch of the day.” If he went missing, he was never hard to find. Just go to the dock on Silver Lake and he would be catching bait with his Sabiki Rig for the next day’s trip.

Jamie is survived by his mother, Marian Meacham Shernof Venice, FL; brothers, Christian Shern and wife Sandra of Delray Beach, FL and Thomas Shern and wife Susan of Cumberland, MD. He was the “favorite” uncle to Rachel, Ryan, Gabriella and Julianna Shern. Jamie is also survived by aunts, uncles and many cousins across the country and Canada.

Jamie never met a stranger and will be missed and remembered by all that met him.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Take A Kid Fishing Foundation, Inc. P.O. Box 1191, Morehead City, NC 28557 (takf.com) or The American Stroke Association (stroke.org).