Dr. James W. Jenkins, 82, died peacefully at home on May 2, 2018 surrounded by his family. He was born on Oct. 22, 1935, in Chesterfield, SC, to Bessie Lee Mangum and Ulysses Wilson Jenkins. He graduated from Chesterfield High School and began college at Furman and USC. He served honorably in the US Army in Korea before returning to Newberry College to complete his undergraduate degree. He later received his doctorate from USC, and his entire professional career of over 40 years was spent in education as a teacher, coach, and superintendent of schools in several districts in SC and Georgia. In his retirement he excelled in photography, and family and friends cherish the many pictures he shared. Many of them are on display in the old courthouse in Chesterfield, SC, and on the www.sciway.net website. He was grateful for his hometown and continued to highlight her history and changes through the years.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his infant brother, William Mangum Jenkins, and his first wife, Marion Kahrs Jenkins.
He is survived by his wife, Lynn MacLellan Jenkins; his children, Cheryl Jenkins Guy (Stan), Stephen Douglas Jenkins (Melinda), Michelle Laird, and Elizabeth Leigh Jenkins; his grandchildren, Joseph Stanley Guy, Sarah Jenkins Clarke (Ryan), James Wilson Jenkins II, and Marilyn Faye Guy; his sisters, Kathryn Jenkins Nichols (Carl) and Marilyn Jenkins Boyce.
A local visitation will be held on Saturday, May 5, 2018, at Lord and Stephens Funeral Home East on Lexington Highway in Athens, GA from 1:00 - 3:00 PM. A second visitation will be held at Miller-Rivers-Caulder Funeral Home in Chesterfield, SC, on Friday, May 11, 2018, from 5:00 - 7:00 PM. There will be no public service.
If one wishes to make a donation in his memory, the family suggests that a contribution be made to the Chesterfield High School Alumni Association Scholarship Fund, PO Box 445, Chesterfield, SC 29709.
Lord & Stephens, East is in charge of arrangements. www.lordandstephens.com
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