James Gentry Obituary – (2021) – Snellville, GA

GENTRY, Jr., James Allen “Jim”

James “Jim” Allen Gentry, Jr., 87, of Snellville handed absent peacefully on Saturday, February 27, 2021 at Johns Creek Senior Living Care soon after becoming identified with vascular dementia 5 years ago. Jim was born on February 22, 1934 in Cobb County, Ga to Flonnie and James Allen Gentry, Sr. and was lifted in Marietta. He was a 1952 graduate of Marietta Higher University, in which he met the love of his everyday living, Joann (Jo) Burns. He attended Oxford College or university of Emory College and then Emory University Business enterprise School (now Goizueta Company College), graduating in 1956. He started off his vocation in general public accounting with Arthur Andersen, but people plans ended up place on keep when he gained his draft detect on his wedding ceremony working day in November of that similar calendar year. After virtually two yrs with the Military at Fort Benning, he returned to Atlanta to resume his general public accounting vocation and also teach portion time at Goizueta.

In 1960, he and Jo and their 1 12 months aged daughter moved to Chapel Hill, NC so that he could go after his Masters and PhD levels in Accounting at the College of North Carolina. They returned to Atlanta in 1965, exactly where Jim began a 34 calendar year educating career at Emory University, retiring as Professor Emeritus in 1999. Around the several years he taught some 10,000 pupils. In addition to instructing, which was his passion, he also served as Area Coordinator of Accounting for the business school and chaired both the MBA and BBA Software Committees. In 1998 he was awarded the Donald R. Keough Award in recognition of contributions to the enhancement of the Goizueta Small business School. He was an active member of the Georgia Modern society of CPAs, and acquired that organization’s Excellent Assistance Award in 1992 as very well as 1998 Accounting Educator of the Calendar year. Through his tenure at Emory, he also co-authored three accounting textbooks and founded and taught the Becker CPA Assessment Course for the Southeast for lots of many years.

When Jim and Jo returned to the Atlanta location from Chapel Hill, they settled in Clarkston to elevate their spouse and children. They have been longtime lively associates of Clarkston Baptist Church, exactly where Jim was a deacon for most of these decades and served as Chairman for a number of. He was incredibly concerned in the life of his four young children, always getting time to coach their sports activities teams, guide several of their church youth courses, and provide with Jo as co-president of the Jolly Elementary PTA. He was also an avid collector of minor league baseball memorabilia, a longtime hobby which he ongoing into his 70s. He and Jo liked adventures and earning reminiscences for their youngsters, and for at least a thirty day period every summer season for a long time, they would pack the kids in their VW van, pulling a Coleman pop-up camper and discovering most of the U.S. and pieces of Canada. With their little ones approximately developed, they then fell in adore with Sanibel Island, FL and seemed ahead to paying out various weeks a yr on “their” beloved island with as quite a few family members as probable. After Jim retired from Emory, they moved to Snellville and grew to become customers of Very first Baptist Church of Grayson.

Jim was known as a sweet, light soul, and his little ones have lived their full lives without the need of at any time when observing him offended. His religion and spouse and children were being constantly his top rated priorities, and at the time his grandchildren had been born, he found even far more pleasure in his family than he imagined feasible. He was Papa to his seven grandchildren, and he was their hero. He left an indelible mark on their life as a accurate guy of God and 1 who generally set other people to start with and treated every person with kindness. He had a big heart, a wonderful snicker (primarily at his individual corny jokes), and he under no circumstances fulfilled a stranger (“I assume that fellow over there wants me to occur converse to him.”). He had a joyful spirit and was an eternal optimist. He is now singing with the angels and is reunited with his valuable Jo.

Jim was preceded in dying by Jo, his soulmate and wife of virtually 53 many years, his dad and mom, and his youngest brother Dick Gentry. He is survived by his young children Jamie (Bob) Nelson, Julie Gentry, Jay (Lesley) Gentry, Jenny Molter, his grandchildren Haley Nelson (Jeff Borsuk), Eric Nelson, Jenna Nelson, Mitchell (Katie) Gentry, Ashley Gentry (Palmer) Brasher, Mackenzie and Anderson Molter, and by his brother and sister-in-regulation, Jack and Elizabeth Gentry. He also leaves behind a huge extended family members who adored him, such as numerous nieces and nephews.

The relatives would like to thank Johns Creek Senior Residing Treatment and Agape Hospice Treatment for offering these types of gentle and loving care for Jim through the last 4 months of his everyday living. Donations in his memory may be designed to Agape Hospice Care, 1395 S. Marietta Parkway SE, Developing 700, Suite 750, Marietta, GA 30067. A memorial provider to celebrate Jim’s lifetime will be introduced at a later date after it is safer for friends and family members to obtain.