James C. Shields

James Curtis (Jamie) Shields I was born in Red Oak, Iowa August 15, 1951 and moved to Birmingham in 1963. He was the fourth of six children born to Mary Mildred Huston Shields and Dean William Shields. He grew up at 76th Street Presbyterian Church and attended Banks High School, where he played defensive line and tight end in addition to running track. He walked onto the football team at Georgia Tech in 1969. He became a Christian during his freshman year through the influence of his future best friend Bruce Johnson. He attended North Avenue Presbyterian Church, eventually leading the college Sunday School class. There was a freshman coed from Agnes Scott College in the class during his senior year that he pretended to remember when they were reacquainted years later. She left the class “because there were too many good-looking men in it” and it was too distracting.

His greatest accomplishment at Georgia Tech was graduating without doing the swim test. After graduating from Georgia Tech in 1973, he worked for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, the ministry which shaped him during his college years. As an InterVarsity staff member, Jamie worked with students at LSU, Mississippi College, and Belhaven. He moved back to Birmingham in 1980 and worked as a Mechanical Engineer. In Birmingham, he became reacquainted with the once freshman coed Catherine Lee DuPree, and they were married in 1984. They lived in Homewood for 37 years. They raised their three children, Curtis, Rachel, and Joseph, at South Highland Presbyterian Church until moving their membership to Covenant Presbyterian Church in 1998.

Jamie died Monday, July 17th, 2023, after sustaining devastating injuries from a horrific fall. He struggled with Parkinson’s for 20 years. Jamie was a humble Jesus follower who was eager to give grace to whomever he met. He met a lot of people because he consistently sought out people. Growing up with four brothers and a quick-witted sister, he loved a good joke, particularly when it was on him, and ice cream. His kids loved celebrating with him with Doritos, Coke, and ice cream. They did not realize he only did this when their mother, his devoted and loving wife, wasn’t around. His idiosyncrasies understandably drove her crazy, but when she could look past them, she adored him. He struggled with administrative and organizational details but thrived on deep reflection on his Lord in His Word. While he had careers in both engineering and campus ministry, his true calling was coaching little league. He was affectionately called “the Reverend Coach”. While the historical record is unclear, his former players estimate he may have cracked .500 as a coach. But he loved the kids and taught them the game well, even though he never showed up on time.

Even as Parkinson’s weakened him, his little league coaching transitioned perfectly into grandfathering, throwing the baseball with his sons and grandsons and umpiring his grandsons’ whiffle ball games until the day he died. His main legacies are love for his family, church, and an absolute indifference towards the things of this world. It became deeply ingrained in both his biological and his many spiritual children that he cared far more about what God thought of him than what people thought of him. He rarely took his eye off eternity, always telling his kids to “play this at his funeral” when he heard a favorite hymn. In response to his sons’ financial advice, he would smile and say, “I’m rich,” and we knew he did not mean financially. He filled his time with things that last, relationships, loving his neighbor, serving at church, and shoving Christian books on people (along with Cleveland baseball and college football), compiling a poor earthly resume in the process. He died surrounded by a well-tended and thriving garden of spiritual fruit, a true lifelong priest gardener and apologetic against the many circulating lies about how to make a difference in the world. The Lord has done great things for him. We are glad. (Psalm 126:3)

Jamie is predeceased by his parents and brothers Steve and Tommy. He is survived by his beloved wife Catherine, son Curtis (Marisa), and their children Mary Claire, Simon, Whit, and Eden; daughter Rachel Davis (Walt), and their children Thompson James, Isaac, and Huston; and son Joseph (Allie), and their children James Curtis Shields II, Elijah, David, Malise, and John. He is also survived by his sister Margaret Marti, brothers Hugh Shields (Ramona) and Billy Shields (Linda), sisters-in-law Karen Shields, Laurel Shields, Susan Mincey, and Jean DuPree, brother-in-law Tom DuPree (Lauren), and a host of nieces and nephews.

A celebration of life service will be held at Covenant Presbyterian Church Saturday, July 22 at 10:30 AM. There will be a visitation prior to the service beginning at 9:00 AM. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Covenant Presbyterian Church: Missions Fund, or Reformed University Fellowship (RUF).

Jamie wanted everyone to know this verse, “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.” 1 Timothy 1:15

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.ridoutsvalleychapel.com for the Shields family.