Obituary
Jim L. Walls
James (Jim) Leroy Walls died August 9, at the age of 93, after a courageous battle with cancer and heart failure, in Port Orange, FL.
Jim is survived by his wife of 52 years, Nobuko Ehara Walls; one daughter Dee Dee Perkins and her husband Jimmy; two grandchildren Adam Perkins and Allie Perkins Carrington (husband, Brian) and one great granddaughter, Carter Carrington born August 1st, 2024, all who live in Brevard, NC; and his nephew Jim Warlick (wife, Valerie Ianerie), of Asheville, NC and Alexandria, VA, who was like his son.
Jim was born July 2, 1931, in Flint, Michigan to parents Lena Pearl King Walls and James Henry Walls. He was preceded in death by his sister, Jean M. Walls and his brother, Ron Brookman of Flint, MI.
He graduated from St. Mary’s Catholic High School in Flint, MI, where he played football, and he was a boxer.
Jim served in the Army during the Korean War from 1950-1954. He was in the 82nd Airborne, and he was a paratrooper, stationed at Fort Bragg, NC. He was one of a select few chosen to test new parachutes and materials in Anchorage Alaska and Temple Texas to see how extreme temperatures effected their efficiency.
After the war, Jim moved south to Florida. After short stints in Miami and Fernandina Beach, Jim built a life in Daytona Beach beginning in 1956. A grand one, rich in friendships and vivid experiences. In its heyday, known as the World’s Most Famous Beach, Jim was known as the king of Daytona Beach particularly in the Greek community. He made his career selling life insurance. He later started his own jewelry business, selling gold and diamond jewelry and his own line of Rovente watches. He was the “insurance guy, the marketing advisor, event coordinator, the entertainment promoter and the diamond expert of Volusia County”—affectionately nicknamed, Diamond Jim by his many friends. Although he wasn’t Greek, he loved that his many friends called him Demetrius Teos (meaning “earth mother” and “gift”).
Jim Walls met his beloved wife Nobuko, a professional ballet dancer from Yokohama when she and a dance troupe came to Florida. He served as their volunteer manager booking performances for them at area venues. He loved being a promoter, and later volunteered doing fundraising for the Fraternal Order of Police. He loved dogs, gardening, and tending to his backyard birds.
Memorial donations be made in Jim’s honor to Halifax Health- Hospice, 3800 Woodbriar Trail, Port Orange, FL 32129 (Edgewater Care Center, Edgewater, FL) https://halifaxhealth.org/hospice-information/give; or Halifax Humane Society, 2364 LPGA Blvd, Daytona Beach, FL 32124. https://www.halifaxhumanesociety.org/donate/index.
A family memorial service will be held later this fall. Arrangements are under the careful direction of Baldwin Brothers Funeral Home and Cremation.
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