Obituary of James D English

James Daniel English, Jr. On Tuesday, March 24, 2020, James Daniel English, Jr., loving husband, father, grandfather, and brother, passed away at the age of 84. Jim was born on September 16, 1935, in the family farmhouse on the Caloosahatchee River in Alva. He was in the fourth generation of the English family in Lee County. His great grandmother, Margaret McDougal English, came with seven children by oxcart to where Alva is now in 1876. (The 1870 census for an area that now includes Lee, Hendry, Collier, and part of Monroe Counties was 107 people.) Jim was the oldest of four sons born to Alice and J. Dan English. He was born and raised on his grandfather’s homestead on the north bank of the Caloosahatchee River just west of Alva. One of Jim’s fondest childhood memories was walking along with his little plow behind his grandfather out in the fields. Growing up he loved the farm: raising cattle and growing citrus. He proudly showed the grand champion steer at the S.W. Florida Fair in 1953. Jim graduated from Alva High School in 1953 and from the University of Florida, with a B.S. degree in animal husbandry, in 1957. He was on the livestock judging team that represented the University at various judging contests throughout the United States. He served in the U.S. Army from 1958 to 1960, spending 20 months at the U.S. Army Aerial Resupply Center at Saint Andre de l’Eure, France. In his career, Jim worked as both a farmer and a real estate broker. He used to say, “I’m a real estate broker by accident, and a farmer at heart.” With his extra time, Jim strived for community improvement, and was instrumental in seeing that the gymnasium at the Alva School was built in 1964. He campaigned for the preservation of the Langford-Kingston Home in Ft. Myers, which would have been destroyed absent his and others’ intervention. This building, moved (with great effort) to a lot across the street from the Burroughs Home, is today a defining landmark in downtown Ft. Myers. Jim loved the land, and he worked with the Lee County Conservation Association to save Estero Bay from residential development. He poured his heart into this endeavor, which led to 5,000 acres of submerged sovereignty land being preserved for posterity. It is now state owned and enjoyed by so many in S.W. Florida. With his special interest in agriculture, Jim worked regularly with the South Florida Water Management District. He served on the government affairs committee of the Gulf Citrus Growers Association. He was president and on the board of directors of the Lee County Cattlemen’s Association, and was elected to serve for more than 25 years on the board of supervisors of the Lee Soil and Water Conservation District. He worked many years on the board of directors of the Lee County Farm Bureau. He had a strong sense of community, serving on the advisory committee of the Salvation Army for more than 30 years. He was the district lay leader of the Sarasota District and Ft. Myers District of the United Methodist Church, and chairman and member of the administrative board and on the board of trustees of the United Methodist Church. He helped manage the Alva Cemetery, and he was the Head Trustee of the Library Association, the property owner for the Alva Museum. Jim was preceded in death by his father, Dan, and his mother, Alice. He will be lovingly remembered by his wife of 56 years, Irby; his son, Trey (Sangeeta); his two grandsons, Daniel and Nathaniel; his three brothers, Hugh, Ed, and Joe; and his cousins, nieces, nephews, extended family, and many dear friends. With gatherings limited in this time of COVID-19, the family would ask that those outside the immediate family wishing to send a token of affection please donate to one of Jim’s heartfelt causes, the Alva Museum, either online by visiting alvaflmuseum.com or by mail at Alva Library & Museum, P.O. Box 746, Alva, FL 33920. In better times, please visit the Alva Museum to observe and enjoy the land and community that he loved. Arrangements by Akin-Davis Funeral Home - Fort Myers.