James Edward Vann

James Edward Vann, of Morris, Alabama, born October 7, 1934, passed from this life surrounded by his loved ones on December 26, 2022. “Ed,” to family and friends, was always authentically himself and marched to the beat of his own drum. The first-born son of KG and Orvie Vann, he spent boyhood hunting and fishing in the woods and streams of Marion County, Detroit, and Hamilton, Alabama with his brother Lyndon. He attended Byrd School and spent summers picking cotton and working gardens until he turned 12 and began driving a delivery truck, seated on a telephone book to reach the steering wheel. Enticed by the solitude and adventure of a life on the road, he moved to Birmingham in the mid 1950s as a long-haul driver. On weekends, Ed made many return trips from Birmingham to West Alabama to court the woman who would become his lifelong love and wife of 66 years, Betty Jo Tate. Shortly after they married, Ed joined the Army, and they relocated to Aberdeen, Maryland for stateside training before deployment to Germany as a tank retrieval specialist. In 1963, Ed and Betty were thrilled with the birth of their only child, Angelia (Angie). He continued his trucking career, briefly owning and operating his own trucking company based in Birmingham. In the years that followed, he worked for other trucking companies before retiring in 1980. Through his trucking career, Ed influenced both of his younger brothers, Jimmy and Frankie, to also become professional drivers. Ed was always most content in the natural world. He was a beekeeper, a birdwatcher (and feeder), a hound and coon dog trainer, an aficionado of classic country music, an amateur botanist, a fix-it man, a lumberjack, an arborist, and a good grandpa and playmate during his grandson Matt’s formative years. Gardening was his life-long passion, and to the delight of family and neighbors, he was good at it. Many happily shared the bounty from Ed’s garden (as long as they agreed to do the picking for themselves!) For others, who were unable to gather the harvest, Ed picked for them, delivering baskets, buckets, and bushels of fresh vegetables and fruits to their homes for their families. Ed both stood for and fought for what he believed was right, and lived by his own moral code up until the very end. He was preceded in death by his father, KG; his mother, Orvie; and his youngest brother, Frankie. He is survived by his devoted wife, Betty; his daughter Angie (Jeff), his brothers Lyndon, and Jimmy (Brenda); his grandson, Matthew, and many nieces, nephews and cousins.

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James Edward Vann

October 7, 1934 - December 26, 2022