A graveside service for James Hathcock will be held at 1:00pm on Tuesday, 11/28/2017 from Mobile Memorial Gardens.
James Lee (Buddy) Hathcock, Jr., born July 30, 1923 in Moss Point, Mississippi, passed away at Forest Manor Nursing Facility, Tuscaloosa, AL, surrounded by family on November 23, 2017. He is remembered as a kind, beloved husband, father, PawPaw, and friend, always quick with a smile and a joke. Buddy was preceded in death by his father James Lee Hathcock, Sr.; his mother Ethel Hathcock; his sister Doris Burns and brother-in-law Oliver Burns; and his step-grandson Zachary Daniel Day. He is survived by his wife Juanice Hathcock; brother Robert Hathcock; son Edwin Glenn Hathcock; daughter Regina Diane O'Dell (David); step-son Charles Day (Nancy Campbell); grandchildren Casey John O'Dell (Katie) and Kelly Chandler; step-grandchildren Ashley Marie Day and Charles Matthew Day (Michelle); great-grandchildren Sydne O'Dell, Addy O'Dell, and Shelby Chandler; step-great grandchildren Emma Day and Jack Day; and numerous other relatives and family friends. An Air Force veteran who served during WWII as an airplane mechanic at a base near then-Calcutta, India, he had a long career in Civil Service, working in mechanics and quality control. He worked longest at Brookley Field, Mobile, AL, and also in Jacksonville, Sarasota, and St. Petersburg, FL. Gifted working with his hands, he was an excellent mechanic, watchmaker, tinkerer, and painter of portraits and landscapes. After retiring from Civil Service, Buddy worked at several different auto, RV, and parts supplier businesses. A longtime resident of Mobile, he was a member over the years of Navaco Baptist Church, Azalea Baptist Church, and Dauphin Way Baptist Church. He sang in the choirs of all these churches. Buddy and Juanice moved to Tuscaloosa in 2009 and lived in the Springhill Lake neighborhood as well as Crimson Village Retirement Center before moving into Forest Manor. A funeral service will be held at 3:00 on Monday, November 27, preceded by a brief visitation 2:30-3:00, at Dignity Memorial's Memory Chapel Funeral Home, 2200 Skyland Blvd. E., Tuscaloosa, followed on Tuesday, November 28 at 1:00 by a short graveside service at Mobile Memorial Gardens, Mobile, AL.
Interment arrangements by Mobile Memorial Gardens Cemetery and Mausoleum, 6100 Three Notch Rd., Mobile, AL 36619 | 251-661-1333