Psalm 125
TRUST IN THE LORD
James Carswell Murphey was known as Jim C. Murphey, or Jim to his friends. To me, he was Granddaddy. Jim lived most of his adult life in West Point, Georgia.
Jim was a blue-eyed redhead with fair skin and freckles. His hair thinned and grayed as he grew older; he passed along these traits to his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.
Jim was a Christian and a deacon of First Baptist Church in West Point. He was also a faithful and longstanding member of the Valley Lions Club.
Jim worked for many years at the construction company Batson-Cook, where many projects came across his desk. Jim would carefully review and approve the materials and work orders. As work required, Jim would visit the construction sites, even in other cities. If an extended stay was necessary and school was out, he might take along his wife, Willie Mae, and his two daughters, Vivien and Sarah. In the early 1970s, one of the projects that came across Jim’s desk was the inverted-pyramid structure known as the St. Petersburg Pier. A few years before his death, during one of his family trips, Jim visited the pier for his first and only time.
Jim passed in January 1987. Though I did not visit the Pier often, I felt a connection to my grandfather through that place.
Demolition of the Pier was completed November 2015, a reminder that this world is fleeting. But there is comfort for us all in knowing that those who have trusted and do trust in the LORD are not fleeting, but endure forever.
—James Murphey “Jimmy” Thomas