He was born on December 27, 1930, in Sneads Ferry, North Carolina, the son of James O. Montford and Lila Dixon Montford.
James served for 20 years in the United States Coast Guard retiring at the rank of Chief Petty Officer E-8. He was one of the first to be enlisted in the integrated services of the United States. James had multiple deployments: on the Ice Patrol fleet, and during the Vietnam war period in the South Pacific on a Coast Guard battleship. Overseas service also included a stint in Turkey during the cold war years. Following his Coast Guard career, he was employed in civil service at the Groton Navy Sub Base for 20 years as Foreman of the Public Works Electric Shop. He was a former Property Committee member of the Second Congregational Church in New London, and more recently attended the Crossroads Presbyterian Church in Waterford.
James was an active member of the Retired Armed Forces Association, Stonington Lodge #26 Odd Fellows of Groton, Connecticut. His community work saw service on several boards including the B.P. Learned House in New London. He was a member of the NAACP. He attended Howard University in Washington, D.C. James pursued a liberal arts degree at Three Rivers Community College in Norwich CT, receiving his Associates degree there. In their retirement years together, James and his wife Bessie were avid campers, traveling with the Good Sam club up and down the east coast of the United States. They were “snowbirds,” spending many winters in Port Saint Joe, FL. James was a self-taught artist in painting and stained glass, receiving several local awards for his work. His favorite subjects were the ships he had served on during his CG years. James was a horticulturalist with an extensive garden, growing vegetables and an array of flowers. His first love was fishing in the local freshwater ponds of southeastern CT.
James is survived by his daughter Sheryl Varnedoe of Waterford (Eddie Caruthers); his sons James W. Montford, Jr., of Providence and Boston (Linda), Richard Montford of Savannah, GA , and his sisters Shirley Arlene Thorpe of Washington, D.C., Pearl Hines of Jacksonville, N.C. , Harriet Sanderlein, Gardenia, CA, and Joan Sutton, Torrence, CA. Predeceased by: Emmer Yates, sister, Durley Spinner, sister, Vernon Sutton, brother, Charles Hayes, brother, and Peter Hayes, brother. James leaves grandchildren: Rashard Williams, Daniel Simonds, Dale Simonds, Jozlyn Varnedoe, Montford Varnedoe, and Elisha Montford, and seven great- grandchildren, as well as a host of relatives including his devoted Aunt Edna Montford of Fort Washington, MD. He leaves his special friends Doris Major and family, Winston Barrows, and Carl and Christine White.
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