James Edsel Garner of Gordo, Alabama, died on November 18, in Birmingham, his adoring wife and two children by his bedside as he passed on to meet his Savior. He was 81 years old.

The world was instantly brighter when Jimmy Garner was born on May 31, 1941. Perhaps caught up in the joy of it all, the doctor recorded the wrong date on his birth certificate. And while this might have frustrated some, especially into adulthood, given all the paperwork needed to set the record straight, Jimmy chose instead to crack jokes about having two birthdays. It was characteristic of the good humor he brought to everything in life, and his family never needed an excuse to celebrate him twice.

Raised in Pickens County, Jimmy attended Gordo High School, where he played football and baseball and met his beautiful and loving wife of 62 years, Bonnie Byars. After graduation he began a twenty-seven-year career in the U.S. Navy, including a two-year deployment to Newfoundland, Canada, as a Seabee during the Vietnam War. Back in Alabama, he found success as an employee of the City of Tuscaloosa, and then as an engineer for the Illinois Central Gulf Railroad, a job that brought him tremendous pride; in later years, he owned and operated a Chevron station. He would ultimately spend his long and deserved retirement doing what he loved best: working alongside his wife as a dedicated farmer at their home on a hill in Gordo.

Jimmy was a beloved and active member of his community. He was as passionate about the Gordo Greenwave as he was the Crimson Tide. For decades he lit up meetings of the Gordo Rotary Club and the Gordo Masonic Lodge #564, for which he served as chaplain. Jimmy's greatest joy, however, was his family. He worked hard to ensure that both of his two children received the college education he never had. He worked harder to ensure they knew Jesus Christ.