James Leslie "Jim" Durham, 94, was born in 1927 to Henry Lee Durham & Ruth Vance Durham. He passed away Friday, May 28, 2021.

His paternal grandparents were Judge James Lucien Durham and his wife, Jenny Lee Woodward Durham. His maternal grandparents were Leslie Milton Vance and his wife, Martha Roseanna McCubbin Vance. Two years after Jim's birth, his sister, Martha was born, and 4 years later, his brother, Henry was born.

Jim attended public school in Greensburg, KY from 1st-12th grade. After completing high school, he volunteered to serve in WWII. In 1945, he went through Boot Camp in Ithaca, New York. He worked on small boats on Lake Seneca. Afterward, the Navy sent him to Naval Training at Station University, Oklahoma. Jim received orders to join a division in Japan when the bomb was dropped in August of 1946, ending the war. His orders changed to helping soldiers process out from the Navy so they could return to civilian life. Jim enrolled at the University of Kentucky from 1946-1949, graduating in 3½ years. Starting his second UK semester, he joined the Sigma Chi Fraternity and played the trombone in the UK Marching band for two seasons.

He met Henrietta Curd Hill during the summer of 1949 and they began dating while at UK. In 1950, Jim returned home to Greensburg, KY to take over from his father in the Hardware Store. He also helped open the Durham Implement Store, which sold International Harvester Equipment. Rusty Clark managed the store for 10 years until being sold. On June 16, 1951, he married Henrietta Curd Hill. They moved into a home, attended Greensburg Methodist, played in a bridge group, and became active in the church and community.

Jim continued his membership in the Rotary Club, having joined in 1945. In 1954, their first child, Bob, was born, followed by Brenda and Beth. In the early fifties, Jim became a charter member of the Greensburg Industrial Board. He served as one of 10 directors from the 50's to the 70's. He was also an early member of the Chamber of Commerce. In addition, he served on the Greensburg Methodist Board of Trustees for several years and was the building fund treasurer during the addition of the annex. Jim started serving on the Greensburg Deposit Bank Board in 1960. He assumed the role of President/Chairman in 1976. During his tenure, he twice managed: the remodeling of the main bank (The last remodel was in 1987), the construction of the Greensburg Deposit Branch Bank in 1974, and the construction of the Summersville Branch Bank in 1984. Meanwhile, he continued as owner and manager of Henry Durham and Son Hardware. Jim coordinated the sale of the Deposit Bank in 1989. Jim sold the Hardware store on September 25, 1991, after 42 years as owner and manager. During the years 1990 until 2010, Jim served as a Financial Consultant for Forcht Bank. For several years, Jim served as a member of Greensburg's Renaissance Committee. In this volunteer capacity, he served with other citizens to obtain matching grant money to improve the square. An outcome of this community effort was more green space and benches.