Former resident of Millbrook, NY – James R. (Jim) Fulwider, 94, a former resident of Millbrook, NY died November 15, 2015 in Cary, NC. Jim was raised on a small farm in Perkins, OK, the grandson of a blacksmith who settled there during the Great Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889. He was always an excellent athlete, playing quarterback on his HS football team and spending one summer playing semi-pro baseball.
He attended Oklahoma A&M University before joining the armed forces in WWII and becoming a decorated Naval Aviator stationed on aircraft carriers in the Pacific. Jim completed his Bachelors degree upon returning from the war and went to work for the US Soil Conservation Service as an advisor to farmers throughout Oklahoma. He soon discovered the game of golf, and was hooked. Moving his family to the northeast, he completed a graduate degree in Agronomy from Rutgers and became the Golf Course Superintendent at Century Country Club in Purchase, NY, a position he held for 29 years. During that time, he served two terms as the president of the Metropolitan Golf Course Superintendent’s Association and in 1990, received the coveted Sherwood A. Moore award, the association’s highest honor. But he was undoubtedly most proud of his playing ability and winning the MetGCSA’s annual golf championship. After retiring from Century and moving to Millbrook, Jim continued his passion for playing golf, joining Red Hook Golf Club in Red Hook, NY. He continued his professional career by serving as a consulting agronomist at McCann Memorial Golf Course in Poughkeepsie, NY and Tryall Golf Club in Montego Bay, Jamaica. He also remained a proud member of the USS Hornet Club, attending many reunions and honoring the service of his fellow pilots, crewmen, and shipmates.
Jim is survived by Frances, his wife of 72 years; his son, Jim, of Apex, NC, three grandsons, and four great-grandchildren. His daughter, Kathi, predeceased him.
