James W. Whitehead Jr.
 |
Jim last year with his granddaughter, Claire |
Jim joined the Navy after graduation. Flying was always his true ambition and for three years he flew F-4 Phantom supersonic fighter-bombers from the aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy, based in the Mediterranean, rising to the rank of lieutenant. Though tempted to stay in the service, he entered business school at Thunderbird in Arizona, earned an M.B.A. and went to work at Southern National Bank in Houston.
It was there, in 1990, that Jim suffered a massive stroke that left him incapacitated. Today he lives in an assisted living facility in Lynchburg, the same one where his parents live. Jim is the favorite of everyone on the staff, and they really do jump through hoops to make sure he’s happy and extremely well looked-after.
Jim was married for a time and is the father of a son, James III, who in 2006 presented him with a granddaughter, Claire Dervaes Whitehead, who makes him light up like the aurora borealis whenever he sees her, even in a photograph.
 |
 |
 |
Always a pilot: Jim at age 5 and in the Navy 18 years later |
||