Herndon, James
HERNDON, James Emmett James Emmett Herndon, 95, died October 11, 2020. Private graveside services are planned. James Emmett Herndon was born in Sanford, Florida July 31, 1925. After graduation from Seminole High School, he served in the 88th Infantry Division in Italy where he earned the Combat Infantry Badge and Bronze Star. He returned to earn a B.A. degree from the University of Florida and M.Div. and Th.M. degrees from Princeton Theological Seminary. Following seminary, he was Pastor of Gulfport Presbyterian Church in St. Petersburg and Minister of Education / Minister to Students (Stetson University) in DeLand, Florida. In 1958, he and his family moved to Atlanta where he served as the Presbyterian Campus Minister at Emory University for 32 years. During his years at Emory University, he earned a D.Min. degree, Summa Cum Laude. He retired in 1990 at which time Emory established the Emmett Herndon Lecture in Professional Ethics. During his ministry, Dr. Herndon was involved in civil rights, draft counseling, abortion counseling, the peace movement, women's rights movement and worked for inclusion of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons in the church. He was a plaintiff in Doe v Bolton, served on the Board of Directors of the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia and the recipient of the 2002 Margie Pitts Hames Award "for his life-long advocacy to protect women's right to choose." While at Emory, he received a Danforth Campus Ministry Grant for study, was tapped for Omicron Delta Kappa-Honoris Causa, was Acting Chaplain, organized the Emory Committee on Biomedical Ethics, was appointed Clinical Assistant Professor of Preventive Medicine and Community Health, served as a member of the Emory Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee and was a member of the Institutional Review Board at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Since retirement, Dr. Herndon has taught an adult Sunday School Class dealing with controversial issues at North Decatur Presbyterian Church, has chaired the Committee for Incluson: GLBT of the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta, and led the Great Decisions Discussion Group at Lenbrook. Dr. Herndon is survived by two of his children, Jim Herndon of Durham, NC and Joy Herndon of Brookhaven, GA. He was preceded in death by Rosalind S. Herndon, his wife of 60 years and daughter Jill Suzanne Herndon. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to The Atlanta Community Food Bank at 3400 N Desert Dr; East Point, GA 30344.
