Dr. George W. James
Dr. George W. James, beloved father, died Wednesday, March 31st at First Health Moore Regional Hospital. He was born in Ashland, Ohio to Lawrence and Minerva James. From 1966-1984, Dr. James was Vice President and Chief Economist of the Air Transport Association in Washington, D.C. He served as National President of the National Association of Business Economists, and Chairman of the Conference of Business Economists, a private group of Chief Economists of the major corporations and financial institutions of the United States. He published over fifty articles on airline economics and was editor of the book, Airline Economics.
Dr. James graduated from Ohio State University and held an M.A. from the University of Texas and a P.H.D. in Economics from Georgetown University. He served on the Transportation Research Board of the National Science Foundation, The Business Advisory Council of The Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the Economic Advisory Board of the Department of Commerce.
He and his wife Phyllis moved to the Sandhills in 1990. He was President of Whispering Pines Country Club, a founding member and elder of Sandhills PCA as well as Chairman of the Board and Founder of Sandhills Classical Christian School. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife Phyllis and is survived by his son Daniel James of Linden, Virginia, daughters Robyn James of Southern Pines, Cherlyn Reich of Greenville, North Carolina and three grandchildren, James Shields, Morgan Reich and Chelsea Reich.
A Memorial Service will be held at Belle Meade Chapel on Saturday, April 3rd at 2:00 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to The Alzheimers Association, Western Carolina Chapter, 3800 Shamrock Dr., Charlotte, NC 28215.
April 2nd, 2010 at 3:47 pm
George James was an extraordinary man who had a huge heart and an amazing
love of life. George taught me that love can find you at any time, any
where, any age. He took me on some of the most wonderful adventures for
which I will always be grateful. George and I shared wonderful times
together and he will always be a hero to me and my family. I will miss
George with all of my heart and soul, but it comforts me to know that he is
at peace. Thank you George, for such a wonderfully exciting time together.
I love you dearly, Mary Kay.
April 3rd, 2010 at 11:15 am
So sorry to hear about the passing of your father. Our thoughts are with you and your family.
Mark and Deb
April 16th, 2010 at 9:46 am
George was my predecessor and mentor at the Air Transport Association. He was a great man and a constant reminder of what excellence looked like.
May 19th, 2010 at 12:14 am
Dr George James, was an honorable man and in the short time we spent together, it was
Truly a privilege to know him and call him my friend. George and I had one big thing in common growing up. We made an earning at a very early age by being a caddy for a local country club. Mine was in Akron (50′s) and his was in Ashland, OH. (30′s)
James says the lessons he learned while caddying at the Country Club have been useful in all of life’s lessons along the way. We are still trying to find our place in the FIELD.
Here’s a link to how George got the wonderful start to a fantastic journey in Life.http://www.times-gazette.com/news/article/2370132
He certainly enjoyed life and we were all fortunate to be in his presence along the way.
The article can be found in the Times-gazette. Com /news /article /2370132
If above link is not allowed on this site.
We will all miss you, Denny
August 16th, 2010 at 12:11 pm
George James was a man that exhibited a paragon of virtual attributes.
When we were maturing in Ashland ,OH, all who knew him admired him.
He taught me how to swim at a summer recreation camp. He also served many years as a highly reliable filling station attendant for my wife’s parents in Ashland, OH.
More recently , we visited with George and his wife when they were living in Virginia
and found that George had become a highly respected national consultant for the
Air line Industry.
Our memories of George shall remain as highlights in our indelible hall of memories.
He will be highly missed by all who knew him.