James Charles Lapham

James C. "Jim" Lapham, 79, of Camilla passed away Tuesday, May 26, 2020 at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany. Private graveside funeral services will be held at Pinecrest Memory Gardens. Rev. Keith Goodlett will officiate. Born November 3, 1940 in Detroit, Michigan, he was the only child of Dr. Jack Lapham DVM and Alice Lapham. His mother was a Canadian from Hanover, Ontario Canada. As a youngster, he lived with his grandmother, aunt and uncle for 4 years in Hanover. During the summer and over the years following he enjoyed spending time at Sauble Beach in Ontario. At the family cottage he enjoyed boating, swimming, roaming, and playing in the sand dunes at the 7 mile long beach. Jim and his family returned here many times over the years as it held fond memories. Jim was raised a Catholic and attended St. Mary of Redford High School in Detroit, graduating in 1958. He then attended Detroit College of Business in 1962, graduating with a degree in accounting. Following graduation he enlisted in the United States Army in March 1963. After basic training and personnel school at Ft. Knox, Kentucky he was assigned to the 2nd Missile Battalion 43rd Artillery Headquarters Company, Turner Air Force Base Albany, GA. Upon his arrival he was heard to remark “sure is hot down here”. Jim could be seen on and off base driving his 1958 Triumph TR-3, 2 seat sports car. While in Albany he met his future wife, Barbara Ford on a blind date. It was several months before she could pronounce his last name. Barbara was a grade school teacher at Sylvester Road School. After his discharge in March of 1966, he returned to Detroit where he secured a job in the Accounting Department at the Ford Motor Dearborn Stamping Plant. In August 1966, Jim and Barbara were married in Camilla at the St. John Vianney Catholic Church. The couple honeymooned while on their return trip to Michigan. In 1969, Jim went to work for the Bendix Corp. as a Wage and Salary Analyst at their headquarters in Southfield, Michigan and then Bendix Research Lab nearby. In the late fall of 1973, the Laphams returned south where he became part of the Earl Ford Insurance Agency in Camilla. It later became the Ford-Lapham Agency. Jim retired from the agency in December 2000. In 1974, he became a Methodist and remained so until his death. He taught Sunday School one Sunday each month for the Pathfinders class at the Camilla United Methodist Church of which he was a member. He was active in the Camilla Lions club for many years, holding several club and district positions. He was a faithful volunteer and co-president at the Mitchell County Food Bank. One of his hobbies was playing his guitars, the Ibanez AFR 75 electric and his high school guitar, a 1955 Gretsch arch top acoustic. Survivors include his wife, Barbara Ford Lapham of Camilla; daughter, Susie Collins (Kyle) of Cutler Bay, FL; son, Jimmy Lapham of Cumming; five grandchildren, Logan and Caleb Collins, Brianna, Kacie, and Brayden Lapham; several nieces and nephews. Memorials may be made to the Georgia Lions Camp for the blind, 5626 Laura Walker Rd., Waycross, GA 31503 or the Camilla United Methodist Church, P. O. Box 192, Camilla, GA 31730.