Jimmy Donald Carver passed away January 1, 2019 at his home in Foley, AL. He was born December 11, 1937, the fifth of seven children, to John Thomas and Sarah Arabelle “Belle” Carver at the family farm in Foreman, AR. His mother died when he was 8 years old. He was then raised by his father’s sister, Alcie Carver. Rumor has it that Jimmy was Alcie’s favorite, and she catered to all his wishes and cooked all his favorite meals! He is survived by his wife, Robin Jane (nee Barbor), and their two children, Kimberley Lynn Scasny (Kevin) and James Daniel “Dan” Carver (Molly), and his four grandchildren: J.D. and Austin Carver and Michael and Anna Scasny.
Jimmy was raised on the family farm, and this upbringing instilled in him the drive and motivation to succeed. He always told his family that his desire to succeed came from working on the farm looking at the “south end of a northbound mule.” Jimmy attended Foreman High School and played on the school’s football team as quarterback. He followed his hometown team his entire life, rooting for the Gators. Jim attended Boys State during the summer before his senior year in high school and the leadership skills learned there stayed with him through school and his career, providing the foundation for a distinguished career in the military. Jim graduated from Foreman High School at the top of his class (there were 17 graduates) in 1955. He attended Texarkana College for one year before obtaining an appointment to attend West Point in 1956.
He arrived at West Point the summer of 1956 and while in Beast Barracks swore that if he’d had some money and clothes he would have gone home. Luckily, he didn’t, and he endured his time there. While at the Academy he learned to play badminton and was part of the 150-pound (Sprint) Football Team. Surprisingly, Jimmy was nominated to be on the Hop Committee, a task that stunned many, as this was very much out of his realm of comfort. He attributes his ability to pass the literature courses at West Point from a hometown connection, a West Point instructor who watched out for him. Jim graduated in June 1960 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the USAF.
Robin came into his life by way of a blind date, but not his blind date. She attended a ring dance with Don Hubbard, and Jim took an interest in her. Jim later attended a dance with Robin, and the romance blossomed from there. Jim and Robin were married in July 1960. His first assignment was a launch officer for the Atlas intercontinental ballistic missiles at Forbes AFB in Topeka, KS. It was there that Robin and Jimmy added to their family with the birth of their daughter Kimberley. In 1963 he entered navigator training at James Connally AFB in Waco, TX. Again, he graduated at the top of his class, receiving the distinguished graduate award, his Navigator Wings, and his son, Dan, in 1964. Following his graduation and pinning on of his Navigator Wings, he was assigned to a C-130 squadron at Sewart AFB in Smyrna, TN. He served in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War from 1965 to 1966 flying missions from CCK AB, Taiwan. While there he was selected to be on the flight crew that flew Bob Hope and his 1966 Christmas USO tour through Vietnam. Upon his return from Southeast Asia, he continued his service flying C-130s at Sewart AFB and Little Rock, AFB, AR. His military career later took him to the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, OH to obtain his master’s degree in system program management.
Following AFIT, Jim was assigned to the C-5A System Program Office at Wright-Patterson AFB with subsequent assignment to Kirtland, AFB in Albuquerque, NM, where he worked at the Special Weapons Center. Later assignments were director of operations of the 7AACS located at Keesler, AFB in Biloxi, MS and commander of the 451st FTS at Mather AFB in Sacramento, CA. His last assignment was the division chief for the AF Operation Test and Evaluation Center at Kirtland, AFB. He retired as a colonel from the USAF in 1987 after a long and distinguished military career and fulfilling a promise that he’d retire before being stationed at the Pentagon, which would have been his next assignment.
Jimmy’s life on the farm also instilled in him the love of the outdoors. He was an avid gardener, hunter, fisherman, and birder. He loved being outdoors enjoying nature and talking to the birds. His ability to identify birds by their songs and hold conversations with them is legendary. Jim always had the most amazing gardens and in retirement worked as a master gardener in Butler County, Ohio. He always had a large vegetable garden in his yard and grew the most beautiful flowers. With each new assignment Jim always left each house’s gardens a bit lovelier than when he arrived.
His favorite hobby was fishing with his brother, Joe Billy. They spent many hours fishing without conversation. Both were men of few words. Family and friends always said that Jim spoke more with his looks than with his words. But when Jim did talk, you listened. Jim was of the mindset that you could learn more by listening than by talking. Joe Billy followed Jim in death just 48 days later, and the family knows they are together again fishing for that big bass in heaven.