James Walter Bland, Jr. M.D., age 81, died last Friday evening after a long illness. He died at home surrounded by family and devoted caregivers. Dr. Jim Bland was born in 1935 in Statesboro Georgia, the only child of James Walter Bland Sr. and Vernon Keown Bland. He attended Statesboro High School. In his youth, Dr. Bland was a talented pianist and an active member of the Boy Scouts of America attaining the rank of Eagle Scout and Order of the Arrow. He attended Emory University where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon and graduated in 1956. Dr. Bland then entered Emory University School of Medicine. During his second year, he married Nancy Hill Carter of Atlanta, Emory class of 1957. Completing medical school in 1960, Dr. Bland did his internship at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta and then received a commission as Lieutenant in the United States Navy, moving to Charleston SC where he served for three years as medical officer aboard a minesweeper. After military service, he returned to Emory University’s Henrietta Egleston Hospital to complete a fellowship in pediatric cardiology. After several years of practice, Dr. Bland completed another fellowship in pediatric anesthesiology at Sick Children’s Hospital in Toronto, Ontario and at New York’s Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center. In 1973, the family returned to Atlanta where Dr. Bland rejoined the Emory Clinic and Emory Medical School faculty as clinical professor. During his training, he served as Chief Resident at both Egleston and Sick Children’s hospitals. Dr. Bland was a key figure in the development of the cardiac surgical and critical care service at Egleston Hospital. During his tenure at Egleston, Dr. Bland served as Chief of Anesthesiology and Medical Director of the Intensive Care Unit, as well as on the admissions committee of the medical school. In retirement, he served on the boards of Sheltering Arms and the Training and Career Center at St. Luke’s. Dr. Bland, with his wife Nancy, was a generous supporter of many cultural, historical, and social service organizations in Georgia. In particular, as a lifelong music lover, he was an important benefactor of the Atlanta Opera. He also had a special interest in the Botanic Garden at Georgia Southern University since he was a great-nephew of the late Dan and Catharine Bland, original owners of the farm on which the Garden was developed. He was a member of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church and of the Piedmont Driving Club. Dr. Bland is survived by his wife of fifty-seven years, Nancy Carter Bland, by his daughter Sarah Bland Fielding of Atlanta and her husband Major Henry W. Fielding of the GA State Patrol, by his son Walter Carter Bland of Aspen, Colorado and his wife Robin Jormark-Bland, and by his son James Walter Bland III and two grandchildren James Walter Bland IV and Carolyn Dalton Bland. A memorial service will be held on Thursday, Feb. 11 at 1 o'clock in the Afternoon at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church to be followed immediately by a reception at the church. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials for Dr. Bland be made to the Atlanta Opera, Attn: Development 1575 Northside Drive NW Building 300, Suite 350 Atlanta, GA 30318, or to the Georgia Southern Botanic Garden, P.O. Box 8039, Statesboro, GA 30460.
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