James P. Fielder

1936 - 2014

VAN ALSTYNE - James P. Fielder, 78-years-old of Van Alstyne, died Monday, July 21, 2014 in Van Alstyne, Texas. A member of prominent North Texas pioneer families, he was a noted civic leader in Grayson County. A nephew, Dr. Robert Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas, and Rev. Scott Holcomb-McLain, pastor of First United Methodist Church in Van Alstyne will conduct memorial services at 2 p.m. Thursday, July 24, 2014 at First United Methodist Church in Van Alstyne. Interment will follow in Van Alstyne Cemetery.

Fielder was born to Robert E.B. and Dorothy Umphress Taylor Fielder on June 5, 1936. He was named for his grandfather, the late James Park Fielder, Sr., early Arlington mayor, banker and attorney. His parents were prominent civic leaders and his sister Julia Caroline Fielder Jeffress became a highly regarded teacher in Dallas.

While a 15-year old high school senior at Kemper Military School in Boonville, Mo., Fielder was a straight-A student, high-point debater, member of three honor societies, and editor of the school newpaper until stricken with a paralyzing form of poliomyelitis. He recuperated for a brief interval at home, and when he could walk with a cane, entered Boyd High School in McKinney, where he graduated on schedule in 1952. While never fully recovering from the effects of paralysis, Fielder attended Southern Methodist University and Tulane in New Orleans and was initiated into Sigma Alpha Epsilon social fraternity.

Fielder's hobby of collecting antiques evolved into a vocation. He dealt in fine 19th c. art and antiques in Dallas and then New Orleans until his 1984 retirement in Van Alstyne. He became a board member of several Van Alstyne organizations: Public Library, Cemetery Association, Historical Society. In addition, he became a charter officer of the local chapter of Keep Texas Beautiful.

Fielder also served several terms as a member of the Grayson County Historical Commission and was active during the County Sesquicentennial celebration in 1986. He also served for a time as the historian of Van Alstyne's First United Methodist Church, of which he was a lifetime member.

His role as curator of the Van Alstyne Historical Museum, the oldest in Grayson County, was especially valued since it was housed in a downtown building his family had donated to the community, along with land across the street for a pocket park in memory of his mother.

He was preceeded in death by his parents and a sister, Julia Caroline Fielder Jeffress.

He is survived by a niece, Jennifer Jeffress McKellar and husband, Dr. Matthew McKellar, of Tyler; and two nephews, Dr. Robert Jeffress and wife, Amy, of Dallas, and Timothy Jeffress and wife, Michelle, of Rockwall.