James “Jim” Marshall Irby, 89, of Hawthorne, Fla, died Sunday, September 8th, 2024, at his residence.
Marshall Irby was born August 8th, 1935, in Ocilla, Georgia, to the late James Marvin Irby and Mary Lou Irby (ne. Ewing).
He is survived by his loving daughter Patricia Van Irby, her spouse Miles Peterson of Charlottesville, VA; his son Marshall Gregory Irby and spouse Libby Irby, along with his two grandchildren, Daphne Ryland Irby and Lillian Gage Irby of Grosse Pointe Park, MI. He is also survived by his long-term partner Shirley Warren, his brothers Terrell Wayne Irby, Michael Tracie Irby and Brian Lee Irby. In addition to his parents, he is preceded in death by his brother Donald Kieth Irby.
Marshall was born just across the street from Frank Primitive Baptist Church and was primarily raised on the Ewing farm by his paternal Grand Mother Della Van Ewing and Grand Father Frank Ewing, whom he loved dearly, he was very close to his aunts and uncles and especially with the large brood of cousins. As a child he was given the nick name of “Swampus Cat” by his uncles, this is supposedly a small half man, half bobcat fictional creature that lives in the Okefenokee Swamp, (Marshall was 5’9”/145lbs soaking wet), it was a very quiet, mild-mannered and timid creature, it didn’t mess with anyone, but if you ever got it cornered & angry it could be the most decisive and meanest …….you ever did see.
Upon leaving Ocilla, he became a bit of global wander, having a long, unique, and fulfilling career that covered the world and very diverse cultures. Marshall served in the Navy from 1954 – 1958 in security and as a tail gunner on the B-26 invader, with primary service in Guantanamo-Bay Cuba.
After leaving the Navy he worked for Pan Am World Services (1958 – 1978) on the Easter Missile Test Range, along with many other Range Rats. For many years working on Ascension Island, Antigua West Indies, Eleuthera, Grand Bahama, Walker Key in the Bahamas, Grand Turk, and the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean. While in Antigua, he met and married Rosamund “Jill” L. Camacho in 1961 (married 28 yrs), and had two children.
Starting in 1979 – 1998 he worked with Pan Am & TCOM on their Aerostat “Balloon” Programs around the globe. Working in Nigeria (5 yrs.), the Middle East (UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Israel), S. Korea along the DMZ. Followed by Aerostat Ships (Jan Tide) in Central America (Port Charles LA, Key West FL, Panama, El Salvador, Guatemala, & Honduras). Once again, in the Bahamas (Grand Bahama, Exuma & Great Inagua), followed by the US Southern Border Security (Cudjoe Key, Cape Canaveral, Horseshoe Beach FL, Rio Grande, Eagle Pass, Big Bend, Deming NM, and Ft Huachuca Az).
Upon retirement in 1998, he settled in Hawthorne FL on a small farm to be close to his family and friends in Northern Florida and Southern Georgia, with a plethora of various animals, which he loved. He became known as the mayor by friends and neighbors.
His career highlights are numerous and typical of him, all of them are slightly crazy/unbelievable/you had to be their type stories. For example, while in Eleuthera in 1968 he helped, the only American, along with local Bahamians to rescue Greek Merchant Sailors from the wrecked Greek Oil Tanker “Colcotronis”, at night, that had crashed up on the reef during Severe Weather. For his actions he received a Greek Merchant Marine Medal from the Greek Government. Again In 1978 while on Grand Turk, he was getting ready to go diving, as usual in the process loading a cooler of beer, a C-47 Cargo Plane lost its engine and had an onboard fire on takeoff which resulted in it crashing into the Ocean. In typical Irby fashion (right time/right place), he was able to rush his boat out to the crashed plane, rescuing 2 of the 3 pilots; receiving a letter of commendation from Pan Am. While in Nigeria, he decided that he wanted to travel by himself, with a local villager as a guide, up the Niger River in a wooden dugout canoe for two weeks of laden adventures. In many places they had never seen a white man. In one of the stories along the trip, he had to talk himself of a serious and potential death-defying incident with a local village chief, who thought that he had poisoned him while trading for palm wine. Dad had to explain to the chief (with much chagrin, tension & difficulty) that the Red Man Chewing Tobacco he used in the trade had to be spit out and not swallowed. With all of this in mind, he lived life at the cutting edge, he tended to be accident prone and had many legendary near-death experiences, which only added to his vast repertoire of stories, the man truly had nine lives.
His hobbies and activities centered around friends and the water. Weather it was skin/scuba diving, fishing (freshwater/deep sea (having a tug-of-war/catching 12 ft Tiger sharks by hand)), skiing or boating, there was always a unique and unbelievable story of some calamity EVERY time he went out. Jim possessed a great love for animals, and essentially ran what could be considered a small petting zoo that consisted of horses, miniature horses, cows, miniature donkeys & mules, Emus, goats, geese, ducks, chickens, guinea hens, cats and dogs, a child’s delight.
Marshall was truly a social individual, and his life resolved around his network of close friends that he developed from working around the globe and his neighbors. It was not unusual for him to host large social gatherings at the farm, which consisted of many MOSTLY true tall tales (he did not need to make them up) that would be swirling around to everyone’s delight and rapture. It was not unusual for his neighbors to drop over every afternoon for him to hold court and share a cold beer. He was always up for a good party and would always be the last man standing at any event. Dad was unassuming, generous in-nature and always willing to lend a helping hand to friends/family/coworkers and neighbors.
After an exciting, fulfilling and wandering life, he has finally returned home to be among his family. He will be greatly missed by all.
Graveside Memorial Services will be held at 11 am, Monday, December 30th, 2024, at the Whitley Cemetery in Irwin County, Georgia, with Elder Chad O’Quinn officiating. The family will receive family and friends for a post reception at Frank Primitive Baptist Church, located on 627 Frank Church Rd, Fitzgerald Ga.
The family suggests those desiring to send memorials, may send them to Whitley Cemetery Fund, C/O Mike Mobley, P O Box 2259, Moultrie, Georgia, 31776-3756.