Fuller Jr., James Leonard

James Leonard Fuller Jr., age 61, passed away unexpectedly from an apparent massive heart attack on Tuesday evening, September 8, 2015, at his home in the Woodland apartments in Burnsville, North Carolina. He was a former resident of Marion and attended Marion Senior High School through his sophomore year. Jimmy was born on December 15, 1953, in Birmingham, Alabama. He is survived by his mother, Doris McCay Fuller, now residing in a nursing home in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; two sons, James L. Fuller III of Des Moines, Iowa, and James Oliver Williams of Burnsville; one grandson, James Sebastian Fuller; and three sisters, Judy Fuller Harper of Burnsville, Debra Joyce Hall of Richmond, Maine and Janice Kay Fuller of Montevallo, Alabama. He is also survived by four nieces and a nephew, Anne Harper, Beth Harper, Abby Hall Luca, Randi Hall, and Jeff Hall. He was preceded in death by his father, James L. Fuller, Sr. Although he began high school in Marion, a place he dearly loved and had recently visited twice, Jimmy was a 1972 graduate of Walter Williams High School in Burlington, N.C. He was a grade school and high school social butterfly, to the despair of his parents, who disapproved of the lackluster report cards he dragged home, but also paradoxically, perhaps, he was a late bloomer and a wandering soul, often troubled, but who would give you the shirt off his back. His sisters spent many mornings feigning innocence under parental questioning when he was late returning from one of his many escapades that involved sneaking out a bedroom window and staying out all night. We were a wall of sibling silence. One of his proudest accomplishments was J. Oliver's, the restaurant he owned and managed with his third wife in Sylacauga, Alabama, the only fine dining to be had for miles around at the time and perhaps even now. After the restaurant closed, he worked in the overhead crane industry, doing such things as installing sheets of ceiling glass in malls. Years before that, he was on the road constantly with a company doing maintenance work on microwave towers, some of which extended high above the clouds. He was never happier than when climbing high. He knew no fear of heights until he fell from a height of 60 feet while taking down a tree for a friend, which resulted in crippling and completely disabling injuries which would cause him severe pain and limited mobility for the rest of his life. The fact that he survived the fall was a miracle, as he almost tore the aorta loose from behind his heart. The pain medications "only took the edge off." His friends and family all marveled at how he managed to soldier on, with his patched up heart, through knee replacement and two foot surgeries which did only a little to relieve the pain in his crushed feet. Every step he took required the kind of grit that few people can summon up even temporarily, and he did it for 17 years. His motto was "Every day that I don't wake up dead is a good day!" He has blessedly put down his burden of pain in death. He had his demons, he was far from perfect. He drank too much beer and smoked too many cigarettes. He told the same stories over and over because he had also sustained a closed head injury and resultant brain damage in that terrible fall. But he soldiered on. He looked after his older sister in Burnsville to the best of his ability with a fierce loyalty. If his sister had allowed it, he would have felled every tree that looked remotely able to fall on the house, to the point of denuding the landscape. He always closed telephone conversations with family by saying, "I love you." Jimmy spent the last two years of his life getting reacquainted with his younger son Oliver, who had moved in with him and who wound up taking care of him when he needed it. We are only now realizing just what a job that could be because we heard few complaints from Oliver. It was pure serendipity that Jimmy was able to see his older son Jimmy III for the first time in many years only a few months ago and that he was able to go to the beach one last time with his older sister and other family members in April. He was happiest near the ocean. He didn't know how to say no. He would loan people money out of his meager disability check. His couch was always available. Always willing to lend a helping hand, he was sometimes taken advantage of by those around him. He will be greatly missed by friends, both old and new, and by his family, because he was unfailingly entertaining ( if sometimes exasperating) to be around. He was generous, loving and loyal. He loved animals and loved children. He never met a stranger. Above all, he loved his entire family, even the ones among them who inexplicably didn't love him back. Jimmy had requested some time ago that his ashes be scattered at Dark Holler, his older sister's home in the South Toe River Valley. There will be a memorial gathering there of friends and family on Saturday, October 24, 2015, to remember him while celebrating his life and where his ashes will be scattered among the roses. If you're a friend of his, you're welcome. If you play music, bring your instrument. The more the merrier! Those of his friends who would like to attend the memorial should contact his sister Judy at 225-287-1413 for directions. Final arrangements were handled by Holcombe Brothers Funeral Home in Bunsville.