James Doyle (J.D.) McGee

JAMES DOYLE (J.D.) MCGEE of Little Rock, loving dad, granddaddy, great-granddaddy, brother and friend, died Oct. 21, 2018, following a brief illness. He gave everything he had with a genuine, caring spirit in life, and leaves a cherished legacy in death. J.D. was born June 22, 1927 in Little Rock, Ark., to Gola Dean St. John and James Floyd McGee. He grew up in Mabelvale, where he was active in sports and Salutatorian of his 1945 graduating class. A child of The Great Depression, J.D. enlisted in the US Navy just before the end of WWII and served on the USS General J.C. Breckenridge, transporting US soldiers home from China. Until the time of his death, he was one of the youngest remaining survivors of that great war. Following his honorable discharge, J.D. returned to Arkansas State Teachers College (UCA) where he lettered on the 1947 football team that went undefeated as AIC Champs and played basketball and baseball. Upon graduation, J.D. began his teaching and coaching career at Siloam Springs High School, where he met the love of his life, Retha Thompson. Three months later, he married her on Dec. 23, 1950. He taught and coached football, basketball, track and baseball teams there that were routinely successful. J.D. received his Master's Degree from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville in 1954, where he became an avid Razorbacks fan. Over the next five years, J.D. was a classroom teacher and coached at West Side Jr. High in Little Rock and Washington High School in Kansas City, Kan. In the fall of 1957, J. D. returned to Little Rock, where he became the first basketball coach at Hall High School, posting a winning record with underclassmen and winning the school's first trophy. When the LR high schools were closed during the integration crisis of 1958, the LRSD Superintendent asked J.D. to become an administrator and he served over the next years of his career as principal of Rightsell Elementary, Pulaski Heights Jr. High and Forest Heights Jr. High. J.D. also served as Associate Superintendent of Secondary Education for the district, and especially enjoyed one semester as the interim principal of LR Central HS. J.D. loved working with students and had a special gift for practicing "tough love", helping to shape their lives in a positive way. He took great pride in the accomplishments of his former students, and long after he retired, former athletes and teachers would recognize him and enjoy sharing fond memories of their school years together. He especially enjoyed the class reunions of the "Lost Class" of 1959. J.D. excelled at working with fellow teachers after becoming an administrator and served as the Arkansas representative to the North Central Accreditation Association on the National NCA Committee. He was also a member of the Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators, National Association of Secondary School Principals, National Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, President of the LRSD Administrative Staff Association, Arkansas State Advisory Committee for North Central Accrediting Association and selected as Administrator of the Year in 1977 by the LR Association of Educational Secretaries. He was a proud member of the Arkansas Activities Association Executive Committee for ten years and served as President from 1978–1980. In 1981, Retha and J.D. moved to Waldron, Ark., where he served as Superintendent of Schools until 1986. Following his retirement, they were active in the Arkansas Retired Teachers Association and J.D. served as president of Scott County Retired Teachers and Area 1 Director. J.D. was an avid outdoorsman who loved fishing and hunting, and he was excellent both on the water and in the woods. His favorite fishing was floating and wading the Fourche and Saline Rivers, and he fished Lake Ouachita from shortly after it was built in the 1950's until his death. J.D. and Retha also enjoyed camping, picnicking and teaching their kids and grandkids how to ski on Lake Ouachita. A longtime member of Ducks Unlimited and the National Wild Turkey Federation, he loved to hunt ducks, deer and small game until his late 40's, at which time he began having easy access to the turkeys in the mountains surrounding Lake Ouachita. Once he had killed a turkey, there was no other game in Arkansas that he cared much about, because, as he put it, it took the most skill to be able to kill a turkey. After they bought a place at Crystal Springs, he immediately became addicted to hunting turkeys and remained that way until his death. J.D. also killed many turkeys over the years in Texas, Missouri and South Dakota. Even when he had an unsuccessful hunt, he always enjoyed the challenge and the relationship with other hunters he experienced. Being able to take his grandsons on the youth hunt was great fun and gave him another reason to hunt earlier in the season! J.D. and Retha always enjoyed watching their grandchildren's ball games, dance recitals, gymnastics meets and school performances, and after he retired, Granddaddy would bring along his camera so he could add new pictures to their photo albums. He was an avid reader throughout his life, and in his later years, he patronized the Thompson Library (CALS) where, since 2006, he had checked out and read 2,101 books. Anyone who knew J.D. could tell of his love for the Razorbacks in all sports. In his younger years, he had two tickets to the football games at War Memorial Stadium and he would take a different kid with him to each game, instilling that love for the Hogs in each of his children. He asked about the scores of Razorbacks' baseball and football games up until the day he died, and his mind for the stats and plays, long forgotten to most, was sharp until the end. In 2002, Retha and J.D. returned to Little Rock, where they spent five wonderful years together at Parkway Village. They quickly became involved in the activities and lives of the people there, and that community was instrumental in helping him grieve and survive her loss in 2007. J.D.'s influence on others was apparent by the outpouring of love, prayers and support during his final days. He will be greatly missed at Parkway Village. Always a tremendous role model, J. D. was faithful to the Lord and to his churches, Immanuel Baptist in LR, and First Baptist in Waldron. He served for many years as a deacon and Sunday School teacher and will be remembered for his encouraging attitude and faithful giving. J. D. was always honorable, genuine, kind and had a great sense of humor. His greatest joy in life was his four children, their spouses, 11 grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren. J. D. was preceded in death by his parents and his wife of 57 years, Retha. He leaves to cherish his memory three daughters and one son: Sharon Hallmark (Robert), Sandra Kurosaki (Ryan), Jim McGee (Janith) and Paula Pope (David); 11 grandchildren–Rob, Wes (Ashley) and Beth Hallmark, Jason (Megan), Drew (Ashley), and Aaron (Chris) Kurosaki, Meredith Helms (Taylor), Holly Walt (Jesse), Jay McGee, and Nicole and Andrea Pope. He was also blessed with ten great-grandchildren in recent years: Anniston, Kaitlyn, Andrew, Sloan, Lila, Lydia, Audrey, Mary Jack, James and Olivia. J. D. is also survived by one brother, Neil McGee (Frankie), one sister, Evelyn Torbett, and his special friend and "sidekick", Dianne Wood. His large, extended family of cousins, nieces and nephews will miss J.D. as well. Pallbearers will be his grandsons, Rob, Jason, Wes, Drew, Aaron and Jay, and son-in-law David. Honorary pallbearers are Charles Ripley, Pat Jones, Terry Plummer, former players and the deacons of Immanuel Baptist Church. The family would like to thank the SICU staff of the VA Hospital for their compassionate care of our hero. They always treated him with kindness and dignity and we are forever grateful. Burial with military honors will be at Forest Hills Memorial Park at 9:30 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 29, 2018, with Rev. Stan Parris officiating. A memorial service will follow at 11 a.m. in the Immanuel Baptist Church Sanctuary, led by Dr. Steven Smith and Rev. Rick Jaggars, and Visitation will follow in the church Gathering Hall. Memorials may be made to the Immanuel Baptist Church Building, Missions or Bereavement Funds, 501 N. Shackleford Road, Little Rock, Ark. 72211. Online guestbook: www.rollerfuneralhomes.com/chenal.