IN LOVING MEMORY OF
Jim
Darby
July 10, 1946 – December 31, 2016
Obituary
Jim Darby of Brunswick died Saturday, December 31, 2016, at Hospice of the Golden Isles after a prolonged illness.
A child of his era, Jim was a Baby Boomer born to Lee and Elaine Darby in Rome, Georgia, on July 10, 1946. He grew up amid numerous grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins in Bartow and Gordon counties.
After graduating from Model High School in Shannon, Georgia, in 1964, Jim earned a B.A. in history from Shorter College and found his bride in fellow Shorter elementary education student Rose Marie McDonald of Silver Creek. Rose and Jim married at High Shoals Baptist Church in Dallas, Georgia, on June 8, 1968. Their daughter Jennifer was born in 1970, and daughter Margaret was born in 1975. Following completion of his master's degree in social studies education from the University of Georgia, Jim taught for two years at Calhoun High School and for two years at Pepperell High School in Lindale. Jim wore his hair long and sweeping across his face like many of his students did, and his patterned corduroy bell-bottom pants were every bit as stylish as his students' clothes were.
Jim's career goals shifted in 1973 when he took a summer job driving a bookmobile for the Tri-County Regional Library (now Sara Hightower Regional Library) in Rome. The next year Jim accepted a "floating" job, dividing his work hours between Tri-County Regional Library and the Department of Public Library Services. Since he commuted to Atlanta for the DPLS, Jim used his time there also to earn a master's degree in Library Science from Atlanta University. Another life-change grew from Jim's career as a librarian: after a working-visit to the public library in Brunswick, Jim said, "if that job ever opens up, I'm going to apply for it." In 1978 it did, and he did: by 1979 he was the director of the Brunswick-Glynn County Regional Library System (later the Three Rivers Regional Library System), and he served in that capacity until his retirement in 2005.
Looking back on his career, Jim wrote, "I never intended to build a library, but situations converged to change that because the availability of state funding allowed small libraries to put up new facilities." During Jim's tenure as director he oversaw the renovation of the regional library headquarters in Brunswick and was the library board's fiscal agent on construction projects that resulted in new branch libraries being built in Brantley, Camden, Charlton, Long, McIntosh, and Wayne counties—a geographical area the size of the state of Delaware! Jim was also instrumental in the establishment of a branch library in the Hog Hammock community of his beloved Sapelo Island.
Jim was indefatigable in his determination to win and wisely employ the resources necessary to provide the people of his region with the highest quality library services possible. He saw his libraries adopt new technology that took them from paper card catalogs into the age of the Internet and virtual catalogs, among other innovations. Jim was a gifted strategic-thinker and a superlative and motivational executive who thrived in his professional milieu.
After retiring as library director in 2005, Jim was employed for five years by the Camden County Board of Commissioners as a consultant to organize and train staff, streamline policies and procedures, and manage the Camden County Public Library. He said, "It was probably the best five years of my career. I had the responsibility for one library rather than eight."
Following those best years of his career, Jim relished retirement as time to pursue other passions, including being an elder at St. Simons Christian Renewal Church and loving Papa to Elizabeth Speight (born 2002) and Wyatt Wilson (born 2004). "Elder Jim" and "Papa," as he was then called, embraced his avocations with characteristic zeal and dedication to provide superlative service to his church and Emmaus communities and his family.
Jim remained a teacher all of his days. It was a calling for him even more than it had been a job. In teaching his spiritual communities, Jim touched the hearts and minds of hundreds of people even as he had endeavored to enrich the minds and hearts of his libraries' patrons. Jim was gifted with words spoken and words written, and dozens of people have notes and letters written to them in his bold, elegant script encouraging them to continue operating in their areas of talent, counseling them in moments of crisis, and thanking them for being part of his life.
Jim loved fast cars, beautiful landscapes, cats, books, setting disarray to right order, his work, his church, his family, and his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He will be missed.
A memorial service for Jim will be held at R. Dudley & Son Funeral Home (131 Summer St, Adairsville, GA 30103) on Saturday, January 14, with visitation beginning at 1:00pm and the service beginning at 2:00pm. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that anyone so moved to do so make donations in Jim's memory to the St. Simons Christian Renewal Church or Hospice of the Golden Isles.
A child of his era, Jim was a Baby Boomer born to Lee and Elaine Darby in Rome, Georgia, on July 10, 1946. He grew up amid numerous grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins in Bartow and Gordon counties.
After graduating from Model High School in Shannon, Georgia, in 1964, Jim earned a B.A. in history from Shorter College and found his bride in fellow Shorter elementary education student Rose Marie McDonald of Silver Creek. Rose and Jim married at High Shoals Baptist Church in Dallas, Georgia, on June 8, 1968. Their daughter Jennifer was born in 1970, and daughter Margaret was born in 1975. Following completion of his master's degree in social studies education from the University of Georgia, Jim taught for two years at Calhoun High School and for two years at Pepperell High School in Lindale. Jim wore his hair long and sweeping across his face like many of his students did, and his patterned corduroy bell-bottom pants were every bit as stylish as his students' clothes were.
Jim's career goals shifted in 1973 when he took a summer job driving a bookmobile for the Tri-County Regional Library (now Sara Hightower Regional Library) in Rome. The next year Jim accepted a "floating" job, dividing his work hours between Tri-County Regional Library and the Department of Public Library Services. Since he commuted to Atlanta for the DPLS, Jim used his time there also to earn a master's degree in Library Science from Atlanta University. Another life-change grew from Jim's career as a librarian: after a working-visit to the public library in Brunswick, Jim said, "if that job ever opens up, I'm going to apply for it." In 1978 it did, and he did: by 1979 he was the director of the Brunswick-Glynn County Regional Library System (later the Three Rivers Regional Library System), and he served in that capacity until his retirement in 2005.
Looking back on his career, Jim wrote, "I never intended to build a library, but situations converged to change that because the availability of state funding allowed small libraries to put up new facilities." During Jim's tenure as director he oversaw the renovation of the regional library headquarters in Brunswick and was the library board's fiscal agent on construction projects that resulted in new branch libraries being built in Brantley, Camden, Charlton, Long, McIntosh, and Wayne counties—a geographical area the size of the state of Delaware! Jim was also instrumental in the establishment of a branch library in the Hog Hammock community of his beloved Sapelo Island.
Jim was indefatigable in his determination to win and wisely employ the resources necessary to provide the people of his region with the highest quality library services possible. He saw his libraries adopt new technology that took them from paper card catalogs into the age of the Internet and virtual catalogs, among other innovations. Jim was a gifted strategic-thinker and a superlative and motivational executive who thrived in his professional milieu.
After retiring as library director in 2005, Jim was employed for five years by the Camden County Board of Commissioners as a consultant to organize and train staff, streamline policies and procedures, and manage the Camden County Public Library. He said, "It was probably the best five years of my career. I had the responsibility for one library rather than eight."
Following those best years of his career, Jim relished retirement as time to pursue other passions, including being an elder at St. Simons Christian Renewal Church and loving Papa to Elizabeth Speight (born 2002) and Wyatt Wilson (born 2004). "Elder Jim" and "Papa," as he was then called, embraced his avocations with characteristic zeal and dedication to provide superlative service to his church and Emmaus communities and his family.
Jim remained a teacher all of his days. It was a calling for him even more than it had been a job. In teaching his spiritual communities, Jim touched the hearts and minds of hundreds of people even as he had endeavored to enrich the minds and hearts of his libraries' patrons. Jim was gifted with words spoken and words written, and dozens of people have notes and letters written to them in his bold, elegant script encouraging them to continue operating in their areas of talent, counseling them in moments of crisis, and thanking them for being part of his life.
Jim loved fast cars, beautiful landscapes, cats, books, setting disarray to right order, his work, his church, his family, and his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He will be missed.
A memorial service for Jim will be held at R. Dudley & Son Funeral Home (131 Summer St, Adairsville, GA 30103) on Saturday, January 14, with visitation beginning at 1:00pm and the service beginning at 2:00pm. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that anyone so moved to do so make donations in Jim's memory to the St. Simons Christian Renewal Church or Hospice of the Golden Isles.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Jim Darby, please visit our flower store.
Services
Memorial Service
January
14
Barton Funeral Home, Summer Street Location
Starts at 2:00 pm
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