JAMES CORLEY FLOYD: January 13, 1945—2025

James Corley Flord was born on January 13, 1945, and passed away in late 2025.

He was predeceased by his parents. He is survived by his wife of over 60 years, Vanita Jo Williams, their children and grandchildren: son and wife, Quint and Maureen, of College Station, Granddaughters Gina and Andee, of Fort Worth; daughter and husband, Angela and Troy, granddaughter and husband Dallyce and Corey, and great-grandson, Corbyn, of Hallsville.

After graduating from Stephen F. Austin High School, James worked at Albritton Engineering Corporation (ALENCO) for a few months. He then enlisted in the U.S. Navy in October 1963. After basic training and electronic school, he was stationed on a destroyer, home ported in Long Beach CA; he served two tours to Southeast Asia (Vietnam) and was honorably discharged in October 1967.

While James was on leave and visiting his mother in Bryan during Christmas of 1964, a high school romance with Vanita Williams was rekindled. They were married in 1965.

After military service James and Vanita lived in Fort Worth for few years but moved to Houston in 1971, where he was employed by FMC Corporation. Raymond Morgan, SFA ’62, also worked there. Not wanting to raise their children in a large town, they moved back to James’s original home in East Texas. After leaving Houston in the summer of 1977, they bought some rural property in Hallsville, between Longview and Marshall, and had lived there ever since.

James was employed for over 23 years by LeTourneau Technologies in Longview. Vanita and he raised and bred Boer goats for about 15 years. Prior to that, they bought and sold exotic sheep rams, and prior to that they maintained a small herd of Texas Longhorns. They both enjoyed the rural lifestyle and being outdoors. James told others that besides their wedding day and birth of their children, the most significant event of his life was becoming a born-again Christian at age 34 in 1979. Since then, Vanita and he became actively involved in the local church, having made numerous mission trips over the years. In 2007 they were privileged to join several other local families in the start of a new Cowboy Church.

James retired in July 2012 and sold all stock that needed to be bred or fed. He and Vanita hooked up an RV and went to the Rockies for a month. They loved to travel and did so off and on in the summer months. In January 2013, they obtained a deal through some friends on rental property on South Padre Island. They spent four to six weeks each winter down there until 2018, when the property was sold. They went back with the RV a couple of times and barely escaped the Covid mess. In 2014 James was asked to serve as the Administrator of Trails End Cowboy Church, Harrison County, until they found someone else. Their pastor, who was being bi-vocational, was exposed to Covid and had to quarantine; he asked James to fill in one Sunday morning with a message.