John James Courtney's Obituary
John James Courtney, 96, formally of DeRidder, Louisiana, died peacefully at the home of his daughter, Tamara Courtney Biggerstaff on Tuesday, July 29, 2014 in Fayetteville, NC. He moved to Fayetteville upon the death of his wife Edwina Worsham Courtney in 2010. He was also predeceased by his parents, John and Lillie Manchester Courtney, brothers, Ivy, Herbert, and Carl Courtney, sister, Eleanor Courtney Hall, and son-in-law, James H. Bales.
Courtney, born January 19, 1918, was a native of St. Helena Parish Louisiana. He graduated from McKeown High School in Jackson, LA in 1937. Immediately after high school, he worked at Standard Oil (Exxon) in Baton Rouge and also attended and played football at Louisiana State University. He was a World War II veteran, enlisting on December 2, 1941, just days before the bombing of Pearl Harbor. During his enlistment in the US Army Air Corps, he was stationed at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. It was during that time that he was assigned to be the ground crew chief on the ENOLA GAY. He was unaware of her mission; he was told to just make sure she was in pristine condition at all times. He was discharged in 1945 and returned to the States.
He was involved in many different careers during his life. He and his wife owned a dry cleaning business in Mansfield, LA. He was in charge of the Quartermaster Laundry at Fort Polk, worked as an insurance agent for The Equitable, was a pipe fitter for Brown and Root, and retired from his position as a millwright at Hercules Plastics in Lake Charles, LA in 1984. As most people know, he was deeply in love with his wife of 67 years and referred to her as “his angel”. Other than his girls, sons-in-law, and grandchildren and great-grandchildren, his biggest passion was his beloved LSU TIGERS…no matter what kind of season they had!
He was a lifetime member of American Legion Post 27 in DeRidder, a charter member of the Beauregard Country Club, and a dedicated member of the First United Methodist Church in DeRidder. Being the outgoing person that he was, some of the happiest times in DeRidder were spent as a “Blue Coat”, the men’s group of the Beauregard Memorial Hospital Auxiliary. He volunteered for over 5 years and accumulated more than 1000 volunteer hours. He truly loved greeting people at the front desk!
Mr. Courtney is survived by his daughters, Angel Courtney Bales of Houston, Texas, Tamara Courtney Biggerstaff and husband LTC (ret) Thomas Biggerstaff of Fayetteville, NC, “adopted” daughter, Dr. W. Lou Shields, of Houston Texas, his “adopted” children Kenneth and Shirley Moore of Pitkin, and his loving sister, Doris Courtney Parish of Greensburg, LA. Pappaw is also survived by his grandchildren, Andrea Bales Williams and husband James of College Station, TX, James Anthony Bales and wife Jennifer of Houston, TX, Christopher Courtney Biggerstaff and Adam Thomas Biggerstaff of Fayetteville, NC, great-grandchildren, Caitlin, Makenna, Zachary, and Brandon Williams of College Station, TX, and many nieces and nephews.
The family would like to thank caregiver Martha J. Blue, Dr. A. Taiwo and the staff at Cape Fear Senior Health Services, and the Shopton Court Group.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the First United Methodist Church, 406 W. Shirley Street, DeRidder, LA 70634, American Legion Post 27, P.O. Box 27, DeRidder, LA 70634, the Beauregard Memorial Hospital Auxiliary, or a charity of one’s choice.
Funeral services will be held at First United Methodist Church in DeRidder at 2PM, Tuesday, August 5, 2014. Visitation will be at First United Methodist Church from 12 noon until the time of the service. The Reverends Wayne Evans and Jimmy Glass will conduct the service. Interment will be at Beauregard Cemetery, with the Reverend Rick Courtney, great-nephew of Mr. Courtney offering words of comfort. Services are under the direction of Labby Funeral Home, DeRidder, LA.
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