Mr. James T. Easterly

On Thursday, November 2nd, God called our beloved teddy bear, James Theron Easterly home. To know James was truly to love him. You simply could not be in his presence without seeing that big, warm smile of his. Even if you were annoyed or angry with him, you could not stay that way for long. He had this way of looking at you, smiling warmly, and all would be forgiven. That was his particular brand of James-magic. He was warm, and funny, and silly, and whip smart, and sensitive, and analytical, and gregarious, and caring, and truly, a really, really great person. Everyone who met James loved him. People say that often, but of James, it was true. And this world is truly a darker place without him in it. James was born on June 8, 1974 in Washington, DC to James and Scenobia Easterly. James was the baby brother of siblings, Marty, Sheree, and Anton and the grandson of Mary Butler. His older siblings, parents, and beloved Grandma spoiled him endlessly. Even as a child, James had a very curious mind and loved computers and technology. His mom often tells the story of how he would regularly take apart his toys and games just to see if he could reassemble them, making them perform better or differently in the process. It was that love of engineering, or re-engineering as it were, that led to his decision to attend Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech). While being a proud ‘computer nerd’, James was also a prolific athlete. James stood 6’6 inches tall and weighed over 300lbs in high school. As one would imagine, he was heavily recruited to play football at nearly every single Division I, Power 5 university in the country. His recruitment process became so disruptive, that his high school coaches at Wilde Lake HS (Columbia, MD) told him to narrow down his choices to 10 or 20 schools so that they could tell the other coaches to stop recruiting him. With the support and guidance of his coaches and beloved big brother Marty, and because of his love of technology, James ultimately chose to attend and play college football at Georgia Tech. While it is true that James loved his family, friends, and computers deeply, he loved nothing more than his daughter, Hailey whom he affectionately referred to as ‘Bugz’. She truly was the pride and joy of his life and his primary motivation for all things. James was an ever-present, active, loving dad. He was also a really fun dad, too. Can you imagine James as a dad? He and Hailey rode 4-wheelers, bicycles, roller blades, roller coasters, lit fireworks, went to festivals, ate at amazing restaurants, played video games, etc. And while he was a fun, active dad, he was also a serious dad when it came to supporting and teaching Hailey. He was a proud volleyball and rowing dad. He came up with unique cheers for Hailey and her teams that often brought an eye-roll from Hailey but amused her teammates. He also doled out his very James-like life advice, such as ‘if you’re ever in a car with a man and you stop to get gas, and that man doesn’t get out to pump the gas, leave him there and never talk to him again’. Or, ‘if you are ever standing in the path of an oncoming car, jump onto the hood so that you don’t absorb the full impact of the hit’. That was James. Hailey and James shared a very special relationship. Not only did they look just alike—she being the lighter skinned version--but, they behaved and thought similarly, too. They had an inside joke of referring to each other as ‘Father’ and ‘Daughter’. James showed up for Hailey in every possible way from the moment she was born. James, wearing some painfully ill-fitting hospital scrubs, cut Hailey’s umbilical cord at her birth. He broke out in a full-on cold sweat trying to conduct her first diaper change in the hospital. He held her like a loaf of bread while trying to diaper her. Needless to say, he figured it out and got much better at it over time. James leaves to cherish his memory his beloved daughter, Hailey Simone Easterly (Austin, Tx/Alpharetta, GA); his parents, James and Scenobia Easterly of Ft Washington, Maryland; his grandmother, Mary Butler of Washington, DC; siblings Marty (Ilene) Easterly of York, Pennsylvania; Sheree Melton of Cheverly, Maryland, and Anton Robinson of Ferguson, North Carolina. Also left to celebrate his memory are 18 nieces and nephews, Rick (Ricky and Ricaya), Tenisha, husband Chris (McKenzie and Blake), Tierra, husband Jason (Zion), Martye, Mariyah, Mario, Marcyana, Marlea, Markalya, Brenden, Marquel, Aryana, and Adina and cousins, Rex (Teresa) Easterly and Kim Easterly. James also leaves behind a devoted lifelong co-parent and ex-spouse, Andrea Easterly of Alpharetta, GA, a very close set of friends who became his family: Jelani, Chantel, Chris and a host of other family and friends.Celebration of Life Services for James T Easterly will be held on Sunday, November 19, 2023 at 11:00 AM. These services will be recorded and streamed live. If the event is interrupted at any time due to technical issues, the entire event will be uploaded and available to view later in the day. Please copy and paste the link to share, or simply click on the link to view the event. https://vimeo.com/event/3877665 James T. Easterly vimeo.com

Tributes

Mr. James T. Easterly

June 8, 1974 - November 2, 2023