Cover photo for  Col. Curtis Adolph  James, Jr.'s Obituary
 Col. Curtis Adolph  James, Jr. Profile Photo
1925 Col. Curtis 2018

Col. Curtis Adolph James, Jr.

August 25, 1925 — August 8, 2018

Curtis (Curt) Adolph James, Jr. Colonel, USMC (Retired), 93, of Decatur, GA, died peacefully on Wednesday, August 8 at Eastside Hospital in Snellville, GA.

Curt was born and raised in Newport, Kentucky where he played baseball for Newport High School before heeding the call to duty and leaving small town life behind. In 1943, Curt enlisted as a private in the Marine Corps and was later commissioned as an officer after graduating from the V12 Navy College Training Program. During his active career in the Marines, Curt served in 16 different duty stations, moving his growing family across country several times. Curt was awarded the Bronze Star for meritorious service in Vietnam between June 1967 and May 1968. While still on active duty, Curt graduated from the University of Maryland and ultimately retired from military service in 1970 as a full Colonel.

Following his retirement from the military, Curt maintained his commitment to service, joining the Dekalb County, GA government where he became the Chief Operating Officer, managing the County’s many functions and reporting to Clark Harrison, Chairman of the County Commission. Upon departing County government in 1972, Curt worked for Computer Management, Inc. and left there to start one of the earliest, if not the first, Home Health Agencies in the Atlanta area. Between 1976 and 1982, Curt served as Director of the Dekalb County Merit System and held executive positions with Dekalb South, Inc. and the Dekalb Chamber of Commerce. In 1982, he joined Fidelity Bank, where he worked as a senior officer contributing to the development and growth of the bank until his retirement in 1998.

Throughout his life, Curt was active in promoting community and the arts. He was a member of the Rotary Club of Decatur and served on several boards supporting culture and the arts in Highlands, NC, including the Highlands Library, the Bascom-Louise Gallery, the Center For Life Enrichment, the Performing Arts Center and the Arts Alliance. Curt was a member of the Decatur United Methodist Church for many years.

Curt enjoyed traveling and was an accomplished photographer whose pictures captured and celebrated the beauty and romance of the many diverse peoples and countries he visited with his wife, Amelia. Of all his travels, however, his favorite destination was the home in Highlands, N.C., where he fished, toured the mountains in his restored Mercedes roadster and enjoyed the company of his family and friends.

Curt is survived by his wife and love of 72 years, the Decatur native and famed artist, Amelia Manning James; their children, Marjorie (Jorie) Andrews and Curtis A. (Dolf) James III, and their families including three grand-children and five great-grandchildren. Curt and Amelia’s youngest daughter, Cynthia Clark, passed away in June of this year.

The family plans a private funeral service with military honors.

To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Col. Curtis Adolph James, Jr., please visit our flower store.

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