James T. Bland, Sr.'s Obituary
James T. Bland, Sr., 91, retired Memphis attorney died Thursday evening. He attended Southwestern University, Memphis and graduated from the Southern College of Law in Memphis. He served for 18 years as the claims manager for USF in Memphis, then opened Bland and Downen Claim Service before becoming claims manager for Hertz Corp. in Chicago for several years. He returned to Memphis to enter the private practice of law and retired as a member of Malloy, Leary and Bland. Jim had been a member of the Memphis and Federal Bar Association. As a young man he served as an deacon at Bellevue Baptist Church and was a member of Mullins United Methodist Church for the past fifty years where he served several years as chairman of the Administrative Board and as a Sunday School teacher. He was married for fifty-nine years to the love of his life, Martha Downen Bland, until her death in 2004. He was preceded in death by his daughter, Martha Bland Ishee (Aubon) and is survived by his son, James T. Bland, Jr. (Pattie), of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands; granddaughters, Elizabeth Cash (Justin), Susan Green (Mark), Natalie M. Bland, and five great-grandchildren. Visitation will be from 2:30 ; 4:00 p.m., Sunday, February 21, 2010, with the funeral service starting at 4:00 p.m., all being held at Memorial Park Funeral Home. Entombment will be in Memorial Park Mausoleum. In lieu of flowers the family suggests a memorial be made to the Mullins United Methodist Church, the Church Health Center, Inc. or a charity of the donor’s choice.
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