Ora James (Jim) Stores of Jacksonville, Florida, died at St. Vincent’s Hospital on October 12, 2014. Born to Lydia Iola (Viers) and Robert Patrick Stores on October 20, 1933, in Allerton, Iowa, Jim loved to tell stories of his childhood adventures with his brothers and sister in rural Palmerdale, Alabama, especially on Rattlesnake Mountain. He attended high school in Birmingham, where he played football coached one year by the legendary Bear Bryant. After his honorable discharge from the U.S. Air Force in 1951, while working on a dredge in St. Mary’s, Georgia, Jim met and courted Nancy Frances Lovell. They married on July 28, 1957, and moved to Jacksonville, where the couple raised two children, Teresa and Jim. After a few years working at other jobs, Jim worked for the Florida Department of Transportation until the early 1980s, when he went into business for himself, building Duval Horizontal Boring into a successful enterprise across the south and then taking over his son, Jim’s business, Southern Taps and Tests after Jim’s death 1993. He loved to work and was proud of the variety of jobs and experiences he had through the years—shrimp boat captain, truck driver, zoo-keeper, and welder at the ship yards. Though he retired off and on through 2000, he never slowed down. Jim loved to travel, and whether taking his grandsons fishing in Alaska, trekking the Holy Land with a group of friends, or snorkeling with his wife in the Galapagos Islands, he especially loved to share the world with others, often dreaming up adventures and inviting friends and family along. He and Nan toured Europe, Australia, New Zealand, China, Israel and the Middle East, Central America and all over the United States. He had a passion for historic steam engines and often scheduled trips to coincide with special train excursions. He loved his “farms” around north Florida, most recently in Lawtey, where he spent hours digging ponds, raising livestock, and sharing the land with children and seniors. He developed a relationship with All Saints Catholic Nursing Home & Rehabilitation Center when his mother was resident, and, after her death, continued to deliver donuts and fresh fruits to the center every Sunday until his own hospitalization last month. He also collected and restored several antique automobiles, including a 1933 Chevrolet Eagle Master, 1938 Buick 38 Special, and a 1931 Model A Ford. He was a member of the Hyde Park Masonic Lodge #370. Jim and Nan were charter members of Normandy Village Baptist Church (now named Westside Baptist Church), later active members at First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, where both taught in the first grade department for many years, and, most recently, members at West Meadows Baptist Church. Jim is predeceased by his son James Eugene Stores, his brother Joseph, and—by only three days—his wife, Nan. He is survived by his brothers Robert Stores and Thomas Stores, sister Patricia (Stores) Schwartz, daughter Teresa Stores, daughters-in-law Angela Stores and Susan Jarvis, grandchildren Jacob Stores and his wife Kristin, Jordan Stores and his wife Amanda, Jaxon Stores, James Jarvis-Stores, and Isabelle Jarvis-Stores, and his newborn great-grandchildren Maggie and Levi Stores, as well as his brothers- and sisters-in-law and scores of nephews and nieces. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Sidewalk Funday School, a Children’s Church, of Jacksonville, Florida, or the Florida Baptist Children’s Home. Visitation with the family will be held 5:00 – 7:00 pm Wednesday, October 15, 2014 at Hardage-Giddens Town &Country Funeral Home, 7242 Normandy Blvd, Jacksonville, FL 32205, (904) 781-9262, www.townandcountryfuneralhome.com . Funeral services will follow the visitation at 7:00 pm at the funeral home. Burial for both Jim and his wife Nancy, who passed just a few days prior to him, will be 11:00 am Thursday October 16, 2014 in Oak Grove Cemetery in St. Mary’s, Georgia.
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