James Clifford Lingerfelt, Sr., 87, of Decatur, GA, passed away on August 28, 2009. Born in Rocky Face, GA on May 23, 1922 to James Walter Lingerfelt and Florence Brumbalow Lingerfelt, he was the second son and fifth child. His brothers and sisters were Clarence Lingerfelt, Mamie Lee Fauscette, Dorothy Huggins, Clara Densmore, Ralph Lingerfelt and Emma Ruth Gallman. After a country boyhood and leaving school after 8th grade to help support his family, he served in the Army during World War II. In the mid-1940’s he began a career of 40+ years with Southern Railroad. His first job was as a fireman in the days when firing an engine meant literally shoveling coal into the engine’s firebox. In 1950 he married the late Bettie Joan “Polly” Daniell of Atlanta and established a home in Atlanta’s Little Five Points. During the 1950s, when railroad work was practically non-existent and many railroad employees were “cut off,” he worked whatever jobs available to support his family – produce clerk for Kroger, postal clerk for the USPO, and airplane builder at Lockheed in Marietta. It was during this time that he trimmed the abundant wavy hair of his younger days to a crew cut so that it wouldn’t get caught in the close-quarters wiring of an airplane cockpit. The economy improved, he was called back to the railroad, and in 1958 he and Polly bought what would become the family home for 51 years in Decatur, GA. He enjoyed having a half acre garden behind the house where he worked tirelessly to provide vegetables for the family’s table and freezer and for sharing with friends and neighbors. In the years to come his family grew to include grandchildren and great grandchildren of whom he was very proud. On retiring as a locomotive engineer from the railroad in 1983, he and Polly bought a house on Lake Walter F. George in Georgetown, GA, near Eufaula, AL, where they spent part of each month. During the 12 years they owned the house, he was happiest growing the small garden there and fishing to his heart’s content. Mr. Lingerfelt was preceded in death by his wife, Polly, in 1998 and his oldest son, James C. Lingerfelt, Jr., in 1999. He is survived by sister Emma Ruth Gallman, daughters Ann Lingerfelt and Donna Hall (Ted), son Danny Lingerfelt (Jimmie Walker), daughter-in-law Melanie Lingerfelt, grandsons Brian Lingerfelt (Cheryl), Brad Lingerfelt (Donna), Josh Lingerfelt (Lauren), Matt Lingerfelt, Sgt. Travis Hall (Jessica), granddaughter Shelby Hall, great grandson A. J. Lingerfelt, and great granddaughters Evan Lingerfelt, Libby Lingerfelt and Cate Lingerfelt. Surviving nieces and nephews include Willena Wilbanks, Reba Hardy (Tom), Vickie Roach, Leslie Robinson (Jim), Mandy Melas (George), Michelle Easterwood, Reece Horne (Jenny), Emmette “Skip” Lingerfelt (Jean), Larry Fauscette, Dr. Larry Morris (Sue), and Charlie Shockley (Angie) plus a multitude of great nieces and nephews. Services for Mr. Lingerfelt will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 2, 2009 at Turner and Sons Funeral Home at 2773 North Decatur Road, Decatur, Georgia. The family will receive friends on Tuesday, September 1, 2009, from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Interment will be at Hillandale Memorial Gardens, 6201 Hillandale Drive, Lithonia, Georgia.
