Henry James Claridge III

July 12, 1944 - August 30, 2016

Jim Claridge, 72, died unexpectedly Tuesday at his home in Tallahassee of natural causes. He was born in Washington, DC and grew up in the northern Virginia suburbs attending J.E.B. Stuart High School. He served in the U.S. Navy in the Mediterranean on the USS Forrestal and then settled in Pinellas County. For many years he worked in Clearwater for Eckerd Drugs where he was a perennial national leader for the sale of Dupree products, the in-house brand of pharmaceuticals. He opened Comfort Shoes of Clearwater and was also a lead salesman for Days Furniture. After relocating to the mountains of North Carolina, he managed the Dollar Tree in Franklin until his retirement.

He was an avid bluegrass fan, often traveling with his late wife, Carol, to music festivals across the South. An enthusiastic train aficionado, at the time of his death he was planning a trip to Colorado to ride a series of steam trains and visit the Grand Canyon with his brother and younger son next June.

He is survived by his sons, Chris (Julie Rich) and Kevin (Sue Steele) of Tallahassee, his sister Ione Robinson of Atlanta, his brother Jon Palmer Claridge of Dunedin, FL, plus nephew Chad (Elieth) Robinson and great niece Makayla Robinson of Nashville, Ian Claridge of Gaithersburg, MD, and niece Devon (Kelle Adams) Claridge of Decatur, GA.

He was predeceased by his first son and namesake, Henry James Claridge IV, who passed away as a six week old infant in 1970 and his wife of 48 years, Carol Ann Moore, who died last December.

Arrangements under the direction of Culley's MeadowWood Funeral Home, Tallahassee, FL.