Cuthbert-James Edgar Coleman,1919-2016 who devoted his life to the City of Fort Gaines, Georgia, passed away peacefully on February 16, 2016.

James Edgar Coleman was born on July 13, 1919, and raised in Fort Gaines, Georgia, graduating from high school there in 1936. He was admitted to Georgia Institute of Technology where, by his own recollection, he did not unpack his trunk for the first two years for fear he would flunk out. He did not flunk out, instead graduating with a degree in Industrial Management in 1940. While at GaTech, he was active in the Kappa Sigma fraternity, the GaTech Glee Club and Naval ROTC.

After graduating, he accepted a position in the State of Georgia government under State Auditor Zachary Arnold where he audited non-profit government organizations. But it was WWII and James Edgar had completed a program in Navy ROTC so on Dec 7, 1941 he was called to active duty, ordered to report to Annapolis, MD where he was commissioned an Ensign.

The Navy was an extremely formative time in James Edgar’s life. During his three year world tour in WWII, he was in charge of Patrol Torpedo Boats, commonly referred to as PT Boats, which were torpedo-armed fast attack craft.

His travels took him to the Caribbean, including Cuba, Jamaica and Colombia, the South Pacific, including the Philippines, Guadalcanal and the Solomons, but especially to a place as foreign as possible to a native of South Georgia – Alaska. On two tours lasting two years, he was in charge of a unit of 12 PT Boats based on sites throughout the Aleutians.

For a time, he was based at Attu, the westernmost and largest of the Aleutian Islands, and the westernmost point of land in this hemisphere. Attu was the site of the only WWII land battle fought on an incorporated territory of the United States.

During his total of three years, he passed through the Panama Canal numerous times, became an instructor in Rhode Island, spent time in New Orleans, experienced typhoons, was bombed, had to destroy boats and at the same time command men in war. He was promoted to the rank of Navy Lieutenant Commander, which is equivalent to a Major in the Marine Corp.

Upon his return to Fort Gaines in 1945, he became active in his father’s company, The Coleman Oil Company. He remained in the Naval Reserves. The high point of his life was marrying Jimmie ‘Tieny’ Best in 1947 and raising 4 children. He was very devoted to his wife of 57 years who preceded him in passing in 2004.

During his life in Ft. Gaines, James Edgar served on the City Council for 24 years, was active in the American Legion, the Lions Club, the VFW, the Masons, the Historic Chattahoochee Commission and a range of educational projects. But his greatest achievements literally reshaped the area.

He was actively involved in the massive project to build the Walter F. George Lock and Dam. The resulting lake occupied 85 miles of the Chattahoochee River, separating Alabama and Georgia, with 640 miles of shoreline. Today it generates enough electricity to serve 56,000 homes.

James Edgar saw the recreational opportunity of the lake to draw income to the region so helped create the George T. Bagby Park and Lodge with facilities for boating, swimming, fishing and picnicking. He then helped get state funding to build the Meadow Links Golf Course which first opened to play in 1998. That same year, Golf Digest ranked the course as “the sixth best new affordable public course” in the US.

James Edgar loved Ft. Gaines and, by default, evolved into its first City Historian. He subsequently wrote several books concerning local history and memoirs of his life in Fort Gaines as a child and his memories of WWI.

He was a speaker to visitors to Ft. Gaines from the Elder Hostel program for many years. He even created a 24 stop walking tour of Fort Gaines which included his very own house as well as a stop at the Coleman Opera House. James Edgar was a lifelong collector of antiques. In fact, the second story of the Coleman Opera House is home to a ‘museum’ containing literally thousands of historical antiques.

Governor Roy Barnes awarded James Edgar Georgia’s prestigious Governors Awards in the Humanities in 2001. He loved Georgia. The closing narrative of an article he wrote about Ft. Gaines towards the end of his life reads, “We are living in changing times. Here, we wish to celebrate the assets of unstressed living as a necessary requisite …. And we hope our celebration will continue, as will this history of Fort Gaines….”

He is survived by his four children -

Cynthia Coleman, Ft. Gaines

Sue Coleman Strickland, Atlanta

Martha Coleman, New Orleans

James McFarland Coleman, Ft Gaines

And 2 grandchildren, Adeline Coleman Mills and Lindsay Coleman.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Fort Gaines Clay County Historical Society, 159 Wilson Street Suite #6, Fort Gaines, GA 39851.20,

Services will be held at 11am at New Park Cemetery, Fort Gaines, on Saturday, February 20, 2016.

Lunsford Funeral Home

Cuthbert, GA229/732-2148