James Straughn Redsecker

James Straughn (Buddy Jim) Redsecker, longtime member of the Centreville community, died suddenly in the early hours of July 5, 2001, at his home in Riverside, CA. The cause of his death at 66 was congestive heart failure. Born July 21, 1934, in Colorado Springs, CO, his parents, Sadye Simon and James Henry Redsecker soon returned to Baltimore, where Jim grew up. His favorite childhood memories were of summers spent with his relatives at the Straughn family home on "Back Street" in Centreville. The Straughns owned hotels in Centreville from the 1850''s until 1925. Jim''s Great Aunts Buffy and Irene operated a millinery shop on "Front Street" from the turn of the last century until Buffy''s death in 1968. Jim served in the Coast Guard during the Korean War, and was stationed on Assateague Island, among other posts in Virginia. He received his BA in Education from the University of Maryland, College Park, in 1960. He worked at several job locations before joining the U.S. Customs Service in 1971, and returning to Centreville to raise his young family. Martha, Jim, Buffy and Lolly spent several years living at the wharf where Jim served on the towns'' Planning/Zoning Commission. In 1979 they moved "out the river" where they spent 7 years swimming and ice skating on the Corsica, before moving to a farm in Millington in 1985. In 1988, Customs sent Jim to March ARB in Riverside, CA, to establish the Intelligence Branch of the Air and Marine Interdiction Coordination Center (AMICC), an integral part of the Customs'' drug interdiction effort. Jim continued to serve as the Chief of this facility until his death. He planned to retire at the end of this month. In 2000, Jim was selected to serve on the City of Riverside''s Police Review Commission. He was proud to directly assist in his community''s attempts to solve the problems that led to the fatal police shooting of an unconscious woman in late 1998. He was an honored member of this commission and will be sorely missed by police and citizens alike. In addition to Martha, his wife of 38 years, he is survived by son Thomas of Maine, 3 daughters, Donna Robbins of North Carolina, Buffy (QACHS class of ''86) of San Francisco and Lolly of California, plus 1 dog and 10 cats, all of whom were loved. Please join his beloved family and other friends on the 67th anniversary of his birth to celebrate his life and final return to Centreville. The memorial service will be held on Saturday, July 21, 2001, 11 a.m., at the Fellows, Helfenbein and Newnam Funeral Home, 408 S. Liberty Street, adjacent to the Chesterfield Cemetery where his ashes will be interned. Following will be a reception at 201 S. Liberty Street, the gracious home of P.A.M. and Carl Schaller, from 1-3 p.m. Jim believed in the necessity of organ donation, and 40-60 people will benefit from his generosity. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that donations in his name be made to the Queen Anne''s County Humane Society or Animal Rescue organization of your choice.