If every day spent on this earth creates memories, then James Dooley has about 36,500 days’ worth of them to share. Dooley celebrates his 100th birthday on Friday, May 22.
Dooley recently shared many of his memories with The Eatonton Messenger.
Seated comfortably in his easy chair, nestled under a lap blanket with his trusty walker within reach and his daughter Rose, granddaughter Tori and others nearby, Dooley confessed that his walking, hearing and vision were not as good as they used to be. But his memory and conversation were as spry as ever, and his stories flowed one after another.
When a friend, Sheila Clopton, asked his secret to longevity, Dooley didn’t miss a beat.
“I always say you try to do what your wife asks, and if you can’t, you’d better come up with a good excuse,” he quipped.
Dooley was married to Betty Longino Dooley for 71 years until her death in November 2023. Betty Dooley was well known and loved in Putnam County, where she worked as a Putnam County Extension agent, nutrition director for the Putnam County School System, at Rock Eagle 4-H Center, Putnam County Jail and for Central State Hospital Rehabilitation Services.
“My greatest accomplishment in life was finding my loving wife,” Dooley said, laying all jokes aside. “I just don’t think I could’ve done anything that meant more to me than she did. My wife and family brought me the greatest joy in life.”
He fondly recalled that, because of her expertise in her field, Betty Dooley was asked to design and equip the kitchen facility at First Methodist Church of Eatonton during the church’s expansion. The couple became active members of the church from the moment they moved to Eatonton.
“My first memory of moving to Eatonton is this Methodist church was the oldest building that I had ever seen, and it had the most beautiful stained glass windows that I had ever seen,” Dooley recalled.
James Dooley said he was born “in a little old place called Waverly, Alabama,” where his father, J.R. Griffin Dooley, was in the lumber business. When James was about seven years old, the family moved to Hartwell, Georgia, and then five years later “followed the better trees” to the land between Madison and Greensboro.
Years later, his father also purchased a farm in Oconee County. By that time, James was about to be a senior at Morgan County High School.
“When we bought the farm, daddy said, ‘You’ve got to help get this farm in order so we can get it in production,’ and that’s when he put me to work on the farm, and that’s where I stayed thereafter because he never found the time to send me to school,” Dooley recalled.
He shared many stories about working on that farm, which stayed in the family until it was sold after his mother died in 2004. He told how the previous landowners had used mules to work the land, so he had “a lot of reclaiming of the land” to do with tractors on the nearly 600-acre farm. Dooley said he grew 150-175 acres of cotton, but he also raised wheat, corn, sweet potatoes, and other garden crops.
“You name it, and if my dad could find the seed, we’d plant it,” he said.
That led to a career in agriculture, first working as a teen for a government agency that measured cotton to ensure farmers were growing their allotted acreage. He later continued working for the U.S. Soil Conservation Service, advancing through promotions to various leadership roles.
“My office was in the Watkinsville Courthouse, and one day this young lady came bouncing in with the ag extension service,” he said of meeting Betty. “She was completing her training there, and we were going togethe,r and then along came the draft boar,d and I ended up in the Marine Corps.”
That was in 1950, and he served two years, spending the entire time at Parris Island.
“I was just 'ole country boy, and I loved to hunt rabbits, squirrels, turkeys, and quail, so I scored the highest in marksmanship, and they made me an instructor,” Dooley said.
He taught new recruits how to shoot different weapons and also worked with officers who had to requalify their certification. Evidently he was a good teacher because one officer was so impressed with Dooley’s instruction that he recommended Dooley for officer training, though the paperwork did not go through immediately.
So Dooley told another officer he wished he had an indoor job instead of standing in the cold all day at the shooting range, and he was transferred to the base post office. The officer training opportunity did not arrive until six months before his assignment would end. Dooley said he knew if he took the training, he would owe another five years of service, so he declined.
“I said, ‘It’s a wonderful opportunity, but I’m not going to accept it because I can be out of the Marines and back in Georgia picking peaches in six months,’” Dooley said with a grin.
“He said, ‘You mean you’re not going to Quantico?’ And I confirmed it.
“And he said, ‘I’ve been in the Marines 30 years, and you’re the first person I know of that’s ever turned down the opportunity to go to school at Quantico.’ And I said, ‘Well, I don’t know how many of those people had the opportunity to pick peaches in Georgia, but if they did, that’s where a lot of them would be now.’”
While he was in the Marines, James and Betty got married. When he got out, they both found jobs in Putnam County and moved to Eatonton. They raised their two children, daughter Rose and son Barry, while James continued his work in soil conservation and Betty worked the many jobs she became known for throughout the county. They eventually built their dream home on 12 acres on Oak Street, where James still lives today.
“I think I’ve had the greatest opportunity to live and work with the most outstanding people here,” James said.
After retiring, James said he tried gardening but found it too much work, so he began investing in property with Love Walton. Together, they purchased, developed, and sold hundreds of acres around Lake Oconee and in Baldwin County.
As James was talking, his only surviving brother, Charles, stopped in for a visit. Charles, 87, said there were six Dooley siblings, with James being the oldest. James’ sense of humor quickly resurfaced as the two brothers swapped good-natured ribbing and shared more stories.
“I want to tell you something about James,” Charles said seriously as the conversation wound down. “James is straight as an arrow. Nobody has been able to persuade him to do anything shady over the years whatsoever. He would stand up for what’s right, regardless of hell and high water.”
“You'd better stop that,” James interrupted. “I don’t know whether I can pay you for all that.”
And the laughter started again.