James Allen Tharp

James Allen Tharp, age 88, of Fort Walton Beach, FL, passed away on January 20, 2022, at his residence.  Jim was born in Washington D.C. in 1933 to James Geoffrey and Fannie Mae Shorter Tharp, both deceased.

He grew up in a Navy family in Maryland, Virginia, and Florida. He enlisted in the Air Force four days after high school graduation in 1951, thus beginning a long association with the Air Force which culminated with his retirement in October 1973. He served as a radar mechanic, Chinese linguist (Yale University-trained), and an Electrical Engineer (Oklahoma State University). He also earned an M.S. in Engineering Administration (Southern Methodist University) and an M.S. in International Relations (Troy State University). Among his varied assignments was his favorite as a telemetry engineer in support of Apollo 11 at NASA, Houston, where he played a part in the first lunar landing. Other civilian employment includes three years with the Navy at Patuxent River NAS in support of the Navy’s aircraft (F3, F4, F14) and at Naval Research Lab in Washington on a special program. He served in a civilian capacity in engineering positions at Eglin AFB for twenty years. While studying at SMU, he met the love of his life, the lovely Nelly Houston, who supported him through fifty-four years of adventure. He had a love of boats and boating, and with Nelly completed the Great Loop, a circumnavigation of the eastern part of the U.S.

Jim is survived by wife Nelly, daughter Constance, son-in-law Jeff Sargent, and granddaughters Emma and Olivia. Other survivors include brother Albert, sister Linda, and many others.

Memorial services will be Friday, February 11, 2022, at Emerald Coast Funeral Home at 2:00 P.M., followed by Military Funeral Honors. The family will receive friends at the funeral home one hour prior to the service.