James Elmore Abbott
April 13, 1927 - February 6, 2015

James Elmore Abbott died peacefully at the Chickasaw Hospital on February 6, 2015, Ada, OK, at the age of 87.

James is survived by his wife, Birdie Mae; children, Judy Arlene Abbott and husband Ralph S. LaRue of Nacogdoches, TX, and John Alan and wife Sara Frenzel Abbott of Harlingen, TX. He is preceded in death by his parents, Barnabas "Barney" and Ruby A. Elmore Abbott; his brothers, Barney Abbott, Jr., Joe Kent Abbott, Johnny Abbott; and oldest child, James E. Abbott, Jr., "Jim", all of Ada.

James was born on April 13, 1927, in Ada to Barney and Ruby Abbott, the second of four sons. He attended Pecan Grove School and graduated from Latta High School in 1945. He was given permission to leave high school in April to join the US Navy near the end of World War II. After basic training, he was assigned to Wake Island in the South Pacific. Following that tour of duty, James attended Oklahoma Baptist University and East Central University. In 1949, he joined the US Air Force, attended flight engineer training, and obtained his rating. He was assigned to Tripoli, Libya, as a member of an air rescue squadron, and remained with that group flying on the S-16 aircraft until his discharge in 1955, when he went to work for American Airlines in Tulsa, OK, as a mechanic. James remained a member of the Air Force Reserves and was recalled to active duty for one year in 1961. He retired from the reserve unit at Tinker Air Force Base in 1967, at the rank of Master Sargent, and retired from American Airlines in 1984, as a machine shop supervisor.

In 1952, he married Gloria Lee Faust. But in 1986, James, returned to Ada, where he met and married Birdie Mae Goodman in March 1989. He and Birdie happily lived together south of Ada, near Pecan Grove, on property that had been allocated to his father as a result of the provisions allowed by the Dawes Commission of Final Rolls.

James is also survived by two aunts, Myrtle Abbott Cooper and Carolyn Abbott Aday, both of Ada; many cousins on both the Abbott and the Elmore sides of his family; two sisters-in-law, Jean Putman Abbott, of Ada, and Gale Faust Abbott, of Yukon, OK; one grandson, James Norman "Jimi" Abbott, of Harlingen, TX; and many nieces and nephews and their extended families.

A funeral is scheduled for Tuesday, February 10, at 1:00 PM at Criswell's Funeral Home Chapel. Burial will follow at Memorial Park Cemetery. Mr. Gary Jamar will officiate the ceremony. In lieu of flowers, please donate to Morris Memorial Baptist Church, Latta, OK.