James Suttles

James Roy Suttles was born on June 22, 1922 in Fletcher, NC the son of John Nelson Suttles and Lila Mae Davis Suttles. Known as Roy by those in North Carolina, Jim to others, he was more than often affectionately addressed as Poppa or Grandaddy by most who knew and loved him. On April 23, 2025 his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ called him home.

While growing up in the mountains of western North Carolina, his parents enveloped Jim, his sisters Evelyn and Pauline, and his brother Wilburn with love and devotion that held the family together during the difficult times of the Great Depression. His parents managed a chicken farm for a wealthy doctor that provided much needed food and income for their young family. It also provided Jim with enough spare time after his chores to live the life a of typical mischievous young man. Tales of a youthful Jim are plentiful and range from mundane to legendary. During the depression his mother and sisters would make bagged lunches that Jim and Wilburn would run up the side of the mountain and sell to the men building the Blue Ridge Parkway. While not even old enough to legally drive he was the chauffeur for the wealthy doctor, and when the doctor was out of town Jim had a fine car to drive his girlfriends around town. One tale his family loves to share is when the teenage Jim had his sights set on a 1929 Harley Davidson a neighbor was looking to sell. He convinced the neighbor to trade the motorcycle for his rifle that didn’t shoot straight. He proceeded to tear up the roads, speeding around the mountains till one day he spun out on a gravel road and lay there bleeding and broken, convinced death was imminent. When the good Lord said,” Not yet”, he got up, dusted himself off and traded the Harley back for his rifle that didn’t shoot straight.

Jim joined the US Navy in 1939 at the age of seventeen. During WWII he served in the Pacific theater, participating in several major battles of historic significance. As an aircraft mechanic, his talents were highly sought after, and he was transferred to multiple ships and aircraft carriers during the war. On September 2, 1945 Jim sat on an airplane wing aboard the USS Cumberland Sound in Tokyo Harbor as he watched the official Japanese Surrender taking place onboard the adjacent USS Missouri. While the war ended for most and they went home, Jim immediately continued his service in Manchuria as part of Operation Beleguer. He would return to the area a few years later to fight in what would become the Korean Conflict. After his service in the Korean Conflict, Jim served multiple tours of duty during the Cold War in Europe and North Africa including England, Gibraltar, Morrocco, Libya, Egypt, and Italy. The love he felt for his country was only surpassed by the love he had for his Lord and family.

As he grew older, Jim leaned on his unwavering faith in Christ to lead him and his family through many trials and multiple near-death health crisis’. During his life Jim survived at least three separate occasions where doctors had prepared his family for his death. Each time the Lord kept saying, “Not Yet, you still have work to do.” The years passed and he began to find new meanings in the same scriptures he had read countless times from youth. He quietly realized that some of his prior beliefs and thoughts were not aligned with the teachings of Christ even though he mistakenly thought they did. With each revelation, it was though he was reading these words for this first time. He also realized the best way to spread the Gospel was not by preaching to others with words but living a life devoted to his Christian faith and his subsequent charitable actions performed solely for the Grace of God. He wasn’t talking the talk, he was walking the walk. Make no mistake, Jim’s life was not a bed of roses filled with luxury and riches. He experienced heartache and crushing loss that could easily send a typical person to the depths of despair. His faith and optimism in God’s promise of a better tomorrow, eternal life and salvation provided inspiration to all those around him that was highly contagious. He truly lived a life full of JOY – Jesus, Others, then Yourself. Even at 102 years of age, Jim was testifying for Christ and actively recruiting for his Lord and Church.

Grandaddy was preceded in life by his parents John and Lila; sisters Evelyn Suttles Lance and Pauline Suttles Ballenger; brother George Wilburn Suttles; daughters Betty Lou Suttles Collins Brown and Jamie Kay Suttles Hooks; and son Harold Lloyd Suttles. He is survived by sons, Jimmy Don Suttles, John Nelson Suttles II (Yvonne Gordon), James Keith Suttles and Frederick Henri Suttles; daughter, Paula Sue Suttles; numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren; the congregation of Spanish Trail Baptist Church; and an uncountable number of people whose lives he has touched while walking in grace of God.

The family wishes to extend a special thank you to Deaconess Hospice.

Visitation will begin at 5:00 pm on Monday April 28, 2025 at Spanish Trail Baptist Church in Gautier, MS with funeral services on Tuesday April 29, 2025 at 11:00 am. Friends may visit from 10:00 am until service time. Interment with military honors will follow at Biloxi National Cemetery at 2:30pm.

Bradford-O’Keefe Funeral Home is honored to serve the family of James Roy Suttles.