James Storey

Family-Placed Death Notice

STOREY, James A Funeral Mass for Atlanta Fire Department Lieutenant James Gregory Storey, age 54, of Atlanta, formerly of Anniston, will be at 11 a.m. on Saturday, August 4, 2012 at the Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church in Anniston with Reverend Bryan Lowe officiating. The family will receive friends from 9:00 a.m. until the service hour at the church. Interment will follow at Crook Cemetery in Ohatchee with the Reverend David Hayes officiating. Lt. Storey passed away on August 3, 2012 at WellStar Kennestone Hospital in Marietta. Lt. Storey dedicated his life to saving the lives of others as a career paramedic and fire inspector for the Atlanta Fire Department. Even as a small child, he was interested in becoming a firefighter. His sister, Diane, remembered him playing with a toy fire truck that was equipped with a working fire hose. Greg set a small fire that he hoped to extinguish with his toy fire truck but suddenly found out that the hose didn't actually work. The fire spread in the grassy area in which he was playing and much to his delight, the "real" fire department had to be called to put out the fire. Greg worked as a 911 operator dispatcher for Cobb County, GA, owned his own ambulance service, and was selected by the Chief of Rescue to serve as the personal paramedic for visiting dignitaries including President Clinton, Vice President Quayle, and Nelson Mandela. Greg was also chosen by the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games to coordinate all EMS activity for the 1996 Centennial Olympic Torch Relay from Los Angeles to Atlanta. Greg was awarded the Judge Arthur M. Kaplan Lifesaving Award in recognition of outstanding and heroic action while gaining entry into a working fire, locating two small children who were in obvious cardiac arrest, and participated with rescue personnel in intubating and administering CPR, enabling both children to survive without complications. He is preceded in death by his father, James Crawford Storey. Lt. Storey is survived by his mother and step father, Juanita M. and Frank McCullars; his sisters, Diane Storey, Conda Gilcrest, and Tracy McCullars; and nieces and nephews, Chad Gilcrest, Ashley Stinson, and Jessica Storey. Pallbearers will be Byron Stinson, Chad Gilcrest, Timmy Miller, Michael Beckman, Walt Parker, Michael Forbes, Mike Nation, and Jerry Thompson. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be made to the American Cancer Society, 1100 Ireland Way, Suite 101, Birmingham, AL 35202 (www.cancer.org) or to the Atlanta Fire Foundation, P.O. Box 8465, Atlanta GA 31106 (www.atlff.org). Online condolences may be made to the family at www.klbrownmemorychapel.com. K.L. Brown Memory Chapel 620 Golden Springs Road Anniston, AL 36207 (256) 231-2334