James Orville Stancil |
James Orville Stancil
James Orville Stancil was born Oct. 10, 1921, and died Sept. 23, 2014.
| Jim's children with Betty Burton |
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James Hilton "Butch" Stancil |
| Katherine 'Petey' Ann Stancil |
James Orville Stancil while in Marine Corp.
Marine Corp photo
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James "Jimmy" Orville Stancil, son of James Oscar Stancil and Mamie Ann Hocutt, was born Oct. 10, 1921, in Johnston County, North Carolina. He was the grandson of Frances Barnes and Walter Henry Stancil.
Jim grew up working on the farm in Johnston County, N.C.
He recalled the depression years. He wore and-me-downs, clothes with patches and second hand shoes. Food was grown and preserved on the farm. Nothing was wasted and Jim recalled chewing the skin off the ham.
Tall and athletic, he was an outstanding high school baseball player. There was talk he might be good enough for a professional team.
He graduated after 11 years and pondered returning for the 12th grade which was optional at that time, but decided to join the Marines. Jim joined on June 3, 1940.
Jim was sent to Parris Island for the roughest basic training of all the branches. This was where they separated the men from the boys. Jim said that on some days he felt like a boy! Gurnie and Ruth drove his mama, Mamie to Paris Island, S.C. to see his graduation. He was sent for more advance training to the Naval Torpedo Station, Newport, Rhode Island.
There he met the love of his life, Mary Elizabeth "‘Betty" Burton, a telephone operator for the government. Their relationship started when Jim was a Marine sentry and needed to establish contact with a Sentry at a docked German Submarine. He was in contact with Betty, trying to get some assistance. Betty grew up in Newport, R.I. She was the daughter of Hilton Elmo Burton and Katherine Charlotte Hughes.
They were married in a church ceremony on Feb. 8, 1944, in Providence, Rhode Island. The first night of their honeymoon was in Providence. There were no locks on the hotel door so Jim pushed chairs against it. The next day they went to a nice Boston Hotel with door locks, in Scollay Square.
A nice old Marine colonel took a liking to Jim and kept him around for four years. Jim was in charge of the platoon athletics that included baseball, basketball, and boxing. This was perfect. Jim played left-field for the Marines and in the Sunset Baseball League while in Newport.
On July 20, 1944, his pinch hit for the Sunset Stars insured a victory over the Diesel Electrics of New London and on Sep. 8, 1944, he was honored for hitting 3 homers for the Marines.
Just when things were close to perfect, Jim was sent to Camp Pendleton in California and onto the South Pacific.
While overseas, his oldest child, James Hilton 'Butch' Stancil was born in R.I.; sister Ruby and his mother, Mamie, went up see Betty and the baby. Jim, a member of the 1st Marine Division, was sent to Guadalcanal for training for the battle of Okinawa. This battle was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific of the war.
Jim was wounded in action. Jim stayed on Okinawa until October 1945. He returned by ship to the States and was discharged at Camp Lejeune, N.C., in December. After his honorable discharge from the Marines, he wanted to give professional baseball a go. He moved to Richmond and was offered a professional baseball contract, but with family responsibilities, the money was not enough to provide for his family so he decided not to pursue his dream. Instead he worked at a service station and played semi-pro baseball when his job allowed it. After several years he began working for a truck body equipment company and developed his mechanics skills.
Daughter Katherine Ann “Petey” was born while in Richmond, Va.
In 1950, Jim found his niche with a telephone company. He supervised the Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company’s fleet of cars and trucks.
The company offered Jim a job as a roving mechanic for their fleet. Jim moved his family to Culpepper, Va., and was able to continue playing semi-pro baseball. Next he was promoted to foremen of motor vehicles division and moved to the Tidewater, Va. area. The last move was in 1956 to Virginia Beach. Jim retired in 1982 after 32 years with the Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company.
Jim loved baseball from his high school days and was an enthusiastic multisport fan. Petey fondly recalls watching sports on TV with her dad on Saturdays while her friends watched cartoons.
When she was older they attended many major league baseball games and when unable to attend Jim watched on TV. Because of their close proximity to his home, Jim closely followed the Washington Nationals baseball team and Washington Redskins. He attended many local AAA games to watch the Norfolk Tides, who were the farm team for the NY Mets and are currently the farm team for the Baltimore Orioles.
Jim especially enjoyed hockey and knew several hockey players on the Chicago Blackhawks, Tampa Bay Lightning now the Anaheim Ducks, before they were famous and a household name to hockey fans. It was a great day for Jim when the East Coast Hockey League, expanded to Norfolk in 1989.
Jim and Petey purchased seasons tickets immediately and were loyal fans through the 2013 season. The Hampton Road Admirals won the coveted Jack Riley Cup in 1991, 1992, and 1998.
The Norfolk Admirals graduated to the higher American Hockey League (AHL) where they recently won the Calder Cup, following a professional sport record of 28 consecutive wins.
Jim was active in the community. He was a mentor for several young men. He coached several baseball teams. One was the Aragona Food Fair baseball team, in Virginia Beach.
Jim had a boat. Fishing and water-skiing on the Chesapeake Bay was a family activity.
They caught spot, croaker, drum, and blues. Jim sold the boat after the kids left home but then with good fishing buddy, Ted, purchased another boat for summer fishing. He kept the freezer full of fish. He continued fishing until he was 87. Jim and Betty found a family church with each move. In Virginia Beach they joined Christ Presbyterian Church. Betty was active in the Women of the Church. Over the years Jim served as a Deacon and Elder and headed up committees.
He was a great organizer and motivator. When Jim spoke, people listened and responded.
Jim taught the AARP sponsored, Motor Vehicle Safety Class, for 22 years. This popular course reduced premiums for older drivers. Jim & Betty reached their goal of visiting all 50 states.
When Petey started her "All State Tour," Betty, then later Jim, joined her as they revisited some states. These tours focused on one state where they enjoyed getting to know the state, people and back roads.
Jim attended many reunions and stayed in close touch with family members. Older sister, Gurnie, always called him by his full name, James Orville, and many of his cousins at reunions used his full name too.
James Orville was featured in the 2012 Stancil Record. Jim appreciated his years on the farm, it taught him how to survive and make do with what he had. In his early years, he developed his Christian principles and beliefs and never wavered from them.
He grew up attending Center Ridge Presbyterian Church and Antioch Missionary Baptist Church.
According to Jim, his mother taught him important life lessons. She taught him to respect others, even when he didn’t agree with their ideas, to lend a helping hand and give encouraging words.
Jimmy died at 92 on Sept. 23, 2014, in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
He was preceded in death by his wife of 57 years, Mary Elizabeth "Betty" Burton Stancil, siblings Gladis Stancil, Ruth Stancil Janiuk, Gurnie Patricia Stancil Crabtree, George Guy Stancil, Henry "Doc" Rudolph Stancil and Jack Rowland Stancil.
He will be fondly remembered for his devotion to family, his sense of humor, welcoming smile, fantastic memory and pocket full of candy.
He was an entertaining storyteller and a great friend who took time to listen and offer wise advice when asked. You always felt better after talking to Jim because he lived Proverbs 17:22, “A joyful heart is good medicine.”
1 – Parris Island, SC, boot camp was where they separated the men from the boys and many times he felt like the 18-year-old boy he was.
2 – During the four years in Newport a couple things happened that directed his future including meeting and marrying Betty as well as being a small part of history. The U.S. had captured a German submarine and sequestered it at the Naval Torpedo Station, which the Marines were required to guard. The communication line at the guard post used to report in had malfunctioned. Jim was the Sergeant of the Guard, therefore responsible for interfacing with the
Telephone Company located on the base to escalate and correct the problem. Betty was the base operator and first point of contact. Picture a young Ohio girl
telling a Carolina boy turned Marine that he couldn’t do something – and the
rest is history.
3 – When war broke out, the services recalled many retired officers, one being Col. Utley, a great sports enthusiast with a special love for baseball. He was dispatched to the Naval Torpedo Station in Newport. Col. Utley put Jim in charge of the "Athletic Platoon" and this was possibly the reason Jim served four years in Newport.
4 – The Marines had a baseball team in the Sunset League, which consisted of 6 to 8 teams over the years. The League also had an All-Star team that played other All-Star teams all over New England. While a member of the Marine and All-Star team, Jim met several current and future big league players.
5 – A 5-month stint at Camp Pendleton, Calif., gave Jim a good taste of Southern California, where he trained recruits for combat. Upon completion of this mission he was assigned to the 1st Marine Division on Solomon Island in the South Pacific. This location offered great training for jungle fighting and the historic landing on Guadalcanal. Jim completed his training and transferred to Okinawa.
6 – The climate, vegetation and animals such as pigs, cows & chickens on Okinawa reminded Jim of his North Carolina home. Landing on Okinawa April 1, 1945, was Jim's first combat mission. The first day there he met Ernie Pile, who was the top war correspondent at the time. Mr. Pile was killed a few days later. Jim was wounded, evacuated to Guam for medical treatment, and then returned to Okinawa in time for the Okinawa surrender. Jim and his comrades continued their training for the evasion of Kyushu, Japan, which is south of Hiroshima. Before the invasion could take place, the atomic bombs were dropped and the Japanese surrendered ending World War II.
Jim returned to the United States in November 1945. His next assignment was to Camp Lejeune, NC. Jim while on furlough, moved Betty and 11-month-old Butch to NC. Jim was discharged in June 1946 as a Sergeant.
— Source: Katherine 'Petey' Stancil Reynolds
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