James Ellison Bondurant

September 22, 1926 — November 19, 2011

James Ellison Bondurant, Sr. of Ft. Mill, SC, formerly of Marietta, died Saturday afternoon, November 19, 2011, with his children at his side. He was 85.
He was born September 22, 1926 in Damascus, Virginia, the youngest of five children of the late Charles Withers Bondurant, Sr. and Blanche Clifton Bondurant. When Jim was six, the family moved to Elk Garden, VA, where his father had secured one of the few jobs available during the depth of the Great Depression. While growing up in Elk Garden, he attended a one-room schoolhouse, where the teacher was his mother. He later recalled, with affectionate irony, that she gave him his first "C," even though she often asked his assistance in preparing the arithmetic lessons.
After graduating from Lebanon (VA) High School in 1943, Jim entered Emory and Henry College. The following year, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps, which sent him to Biloxi, MS to train as a tail gunner on a B-29 "Super Fortress." The war in the Pacific ended while he was in training, and he was sent to Osaka, Japan, as part of the American occupation forces. He was discharged in late 1946, with the rank of Staff Sergeant.
Following his discharge, Jim returned to school, earning his Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from Emory and Henry College in 1948, and his Master of Science degree from Virginia Tech in December, 1950. He began his career as a chemist with American Cyanamid Company at their Nelson County, VA plant in January, 1951.
In the fall of that year, on a blind date, he met Helen Covington of Lynchburg, VA. Their courtship did not have the easiest of starts. Lacking their own automobiles, the couple used the city buses for transportation. For Christmas 1951, Helen gave Jim a little toy car, a hint he promptly took and a gift he treasured for the rest of his life. They were married June 13, 1953. Helen died June 4, 1996.
In the summer of 1963, Jim's employer transferred him to Marietta, where he worked at American Cyanamid's Willow Island, WV plant until his retirement in 1989.
Jim was a member of First Presbyterian Church of Marietta, where he served as a Sunday school teacher, Deacon and Elder. He was also a member of American Legion Post 64 and the American Chemical Society. But above all, Jim cherished his family and friends,and his thoughtfulness and gracious generosity of spirit will be remembered always.
In addition to his parents and his dear Helen, he was preceded in death by his brother, C.W. "Chuck" Bondurant, Jr., his brother-in-law, Charlie Lynch, and two nephews, Ken Bondurant and Chuck Lynch.
He is survived by his daughter, Jane Ellison Bondurant of Ft. Mill, SC, with whom he had made his home since 2008; his son, James Ellison Bondurant, Jr., and his wife, Les'a of Knoxville, TN, and a niece and nephew, Suzanne Brown Weber and her husband, Tony of Marietta, and Thomas F. Brown of Louisville, KY. Also surviving are his granddaughters, Katie Bondurant of Knoxville, TN, Emily Voelker Reich and her husband ,Josh, of Chicago, IL, and Mary Brown Horton and her husband, Nick of Pittsburgh, PA; two grandsons, Jordan Bondurant of Las Vegas, NV, and Samuel Bondurant of Knoxville, TN, He is survivedalso by his sister, Rebecca B. Lynch of Alexandria, VA, and two brothers, Hix C. Bondurant and his wife, Lil, of Radford, VA, and T. Jack Bondurant and his wife, Peggy of Atlanta, GA, and many, much-loved nieces and nephews.
Abiding by Jim's wishes, his body was cremated. Visitation at the Marietta Chapel of Cawley & Peoples Funeral Home will be Monday, January 2, 2012, from 5-7 PM. A memorial service will be held January 3 at 11AM, at the funeral home, with the Rev. J. Craig Butler officiating. There will be a private burial of his ashes at Oak Grove Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Bondurant Family Memorial Scholarship fund at Emory and Henry College, PO Box 950 Emory, VA, 24329, or a charity of the donor's choice.

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James Ellison Bondurant

September 22, 1926 — November 19, 2011

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