Fleming, James

FLEMING, James Furman "Buck"

March 31, 1937 – June 28, 2024

James "Buck" Fleming walked through the heavenly gates on June 28. He was a native of Conway, SC, but lived his final 53 years in Tucker, Georgia. He is survived by his wife of 66 years, Martha Capps Fleming; two sons, Jimmy (Candy) and Keith (Julia); five grandsons, Brad (Emily) Buck, Chip (Andi, his fiancée), Jack (Abbey), Cole (Will); two great-grandsons, Louis and Malcolm, and one expected granddaughter, Annie. He is also survived by a number of loved cousins, nephews and nieces. He was predeceased by his father and mother, Irving McLaurin and Mattie Fleming; his brothers and sisters, Mac, Joe, Grace, Eunice, Lonnie and Edna.

As a young man, he became an accomplished and award-winning photojournalist taking pictures and writing accompanying stories for several of the South Carolina low-country newspapers as well as stringing stories for the AP and UPI wire services. While still in high school he was given the moniker of "Flash Fleming" for his photography. He worked with the Georgetown Times and was at one time, the youngest news editor in South Carolina for the oldest newspaper in the State. While with the Times, he snapped a photo of a wood framed hotel fire just as the hotel collapsed winning the Times first prize in spot news photography from the SC Press Association. He and his brother Lonnie worked together for Fleming Photo Services in Conway and the credits of "Photo by Fleming" can be found in newspaper archives across the State. Photos by Fleming include pictures of fires, wrecks, Klan rallies, liquor raids and busted up moonshine stills. Many of the old photos and negatives were donated to the Coastal Carolina University Archives.

He worked for The Greenville News while attending North Greenville Junior College where he was studying for the seminary. Life led him in a different direction, so he moved to Cayce, SC to work for the SC Farm Bureau. In 1966, he moved from his native state of South Carolina to Cullman, Alabama where he became the Executive Director of the Alabama Poultry Association. While working for Alabama Poultry he continued his quest to pursue his bachelor's degree by attending classes at Saint Bernard College in Cullman. In 1970, he left the Poultry Association to work for the United Egg Producers (UEP) as their Director of Public and Governmental Affairs. While with UEP he maintained a Washington, DC Office from which he directed the efforts to pass a National Check-Off Program for the Egg Industry and maintained relationships with Senators, Congressmen and the various Congressional Committees. In 1978, Buck finally earned his bachelor's degree from Upper Iowa University. From 1979 to 1984 he worked as a consultant in the egg industry before he started work with US Egg Marketers a national egg marketing co-op based in Tucker. He retired in 2005.

Over the years, Buck was the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions including the Outstanding Leadership Award in the Poultry Industry by the Poultry and Egg National Board; Outstanding Red Meat Promotion Award; the Outstanding Dairy Promotion Award; the Overall Commodity Award by the American Farm Bureau Federation; the Management Achievement Award by the American Society of Association Executives among many others.

Buck was an accomplished artist, woodworker, photographer and he performed extensive research on the Fleming genealogy. He made all of the grandkids unique cradles and many relatives sport original Fleming oil acrylic or watercolor paintings. More than anything else, he loved his family.

He married his high school sweetheart, Martha Ann Capps in July 1958 and would have celebrated their 66th year together this year. Family was the most important thing in both of their lives and throughout their time together they found ways to bring everyone together for family celebrations, birthdays and vacations. They were able to travel extensively and particularly enjoyed annual vacations with the entire family on cruises or often in the Myrtle Beach area. Their home was always a welcome area for friends. The family dinner table became famous for the friends who broke bread together. It was a place to listen and tell stories, sometimes self-deprecating, that were graded for originality but not necessarily for accuracy. Buck and Martha were members of the Atlanta International Visitors Council which would arrange for visitors to the city to stay with members. As a result, Buck and Martha entertained international visitors from Japan, Thailand, Columbia, Kenya, United Kingdom, Indonesia and many other countries. They have maintained contact with many of these people. They also participated in the exchange student program when their Brazilian son, Roger, came to live with them.

Buck had a great passion for baseball. He followed his kids and grandkids to ballparks from Alaska to El Paso to New York and many areas in between. He loved to watch the Atlanta Braves and University of North Georgia baseball where two of his grandsons played. Over the years he could also be caught watching replays of old Georgia Tech baseball games on VHS.

In 2016, Buck was diagnosed with Parkinson's which slowly reduced his mobility and his speech and eventually led to his passing. He will be remembered as a man of many talents and hobbies; a great storyteller; a man of great compassion for others, and a man of faith in his Lord and Savior.

A Memorial Service and visitation will be held on Sunday, June 30, (today) at A.S. Turner Funeral Home in Decatur, Georgia. Visitation at 2:00 and service at 3:00 PM. The service will be conducted by Rev. Ralph Atkinson. His grandsons, Brad, Buck, Chip, Jack and Cole will be pallbearers. Special music will be sung by his niece Dr. Patti Edwards and musical accompaniment will be Mrs. Sara Powell.

The family would like to thank Hakeem Booker who was a caregiver, Darius Gonzales, his physical therapist, and a host of doctors and nurses who have worked with Buck over the years to extend his time with us. The family suggests that in lieu of flowers a gift to the American Parkinson's Foundation or to the charitable organization of your choice.

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