James Modlin White

James Modlin “Jim” White, an executive of 40 years with CSX Transportation, and career officer in the U.S. Army Reserve, died Monday, October 28th, at Baptist Medical Center following a brief illness. He was 90.

Mr. White was born on December 28th, 1933, in Washington, NC to James O. White, a businessman and farmer, and Mary Credle White, a schoolteacher.

Jim grew up on the banks of the Chowan River in Colerain, NC, graduating from Colerain High School in 1952. He excelled at North Carolina State University, graduating with a degree in civil engineering in the Gold Metal Class of 1956. Jim was a decorated member of the Reserve Officer Training Corps and active in the Scabbard & Blade Military Society.

Right out of college, Jim took a position with the then Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, putting his engineering skills to work in moving people and products throughout the Southeast. When the railroad moved from Wilmington to Jacksonville, Jim moved with it. He was instrumental in its development, evolution as Seaboard Coastline and continued growth that produced CSX Transportation, a Fortune 500 company. When Jim retired as CSX Vice-President of Economic Development in 1996, the company employed more than 23,000 people nationwide and carried American commerce over tracks that would stretch from the Atlantic to the Pacific – seven times over.

Jim joined the North Carolina National Guard as a teen, later moving his military service to the U.S. Army through the ROTC. He served in the Army Reserve’s 67th Transportation Group (Railroad), the country’s most senior command post of Army railroad operations. Jim participated in crafting rail operations for the military’s Rapid Deployment Joint Task Force, which later became the U.S. Central Command, overseeing the Middle East, Central and South Asia. He retired at the rank of full Colonel, the commander of his unit, after more than 35 years of distinguished service to country.

Jim married the late Barbara Jane Harrell, his childhood sweetheart, in Colerain on June 3rd, 1956. While he built the railroad, Barbara taught school, enriching the lives of kindergarteners. In their marriage spanning 55 years until Barbara’s death in 2011, Jim and Barbara raised three children and traveled the country and the world, beginning with family jaunts to St. Augustine and continuing through journeys to Latin America, Europe and Australia. Jim and Barbara attended and supported the Jacksonville Symphony. They were long-time members of Hidden Hills Country Club, where Jim collected multiple team championships in tennis. He was also a skilled scuba diver, a joy he passed on to his children and grandchildren.

Jim was preceded in death by his parents and his older brother, Walter White, of Colerain. He is survived by his sons, James E. White (Heidi), of Mandarin, Ed White (Sandra), of Freeport, daughter Mary Jane Nelson (Gary) of Gainesville, grandsons Collin and Max White, granddaughter Laney White, and dear friend and companion, Audrey McDill.

Those who wish may make contributions to Community Hospice & Palliative Care, Jacksonville. FL.

Give – Community Hospice Foundation

A celebration of life is planned for early next year.