James (Jim) Edward Hood Iii

James (Jim) Edward Hood III was born November 16, 1936 in Washington, D.C. to parents James and Elizabeth (Johnson) Hood.

Jim was a descendant of General John Bell Hood, for whom Ft. Hood is named. His grandfather, Ellwood Johnson, was the Director of Public Works during the 1940’s in Washington, D.C. Johnson’s childhood home in Germantown Pike, Philadelphia, called the Johnson House and now a museum, was used by his Quaker family as a sanctuary for runaway slaves.

Highly intelligent, tenacious, kind, compassionate, humorous, a lover of good stories: Jim charmed everyone he ever met. He loved to talk and was a storehouse of great memories. He will also be remembered for his twinkling, electric, blue eyes. Several of his friends called him, “Old Blue Eyes.”

After graduating from Fork Union Military Academy as the Commandant of the Corps, where, by the way, he was also named, “the noisiest one,” he entered military service in September 1955. He served at Fort Jackson, SC, attended Officer Candidate School from July 1956 to January 1957, was commissioned Second Lieutenant and then served at Fort Bliss, Texas, Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and Fort Polk, Louisiana.

He was honorably discharged in Dallas, Texas, October 1964,with the rank of 1st Lieutenant.  After his discharge, Jim went to work as a police officer in El Paso. Later, after a short stint as an insurance agent, he moved to Dallas and began to explore further options for his career development.

Ultimately, using his GI Bill privileges, he attended Midwestern University in Wichita Falls, Texas. In 1970, he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in business while he started his career as a polygraph examiner. He also served as president of the local Jaycee organization.

As his interest in criminal justice increased, Jim headed to Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, Texas, to earn his Master’s Degree in that field. He continued his work performing polygraph exams during his studies.

He later relocated to Dallas where he worked in security, specializing in theft control, at a drug store chain owned by the late Harold Simmons, also working part-time as a polygraph examiner. Eventually, the Governor of Texas appointed Jim as Chairman of the State Polygraph Board, an office he held for a number of years.

In the 80’s, Jim attended the former North Texas State University, now UNT, finishing his Ph.D. His fields of study were economics and human resources. He then began his career with Skaggs-Albertsons (later Skaggs Alpha-Beta) in labor relations. In 1989, he studied law at the University of Texas in Austin and at SMU.

He continued his career in the Skaggs’ human resources division. Skaggs was bought in the early 1990’s. At which point, Jim began commuting from Plano to the Radio Shack headquarters in Fort Worth, working in their legal department.

The State of Texas hired him to go to Huntsville to educate and train prison employees about discrimination issues. During his time there, a headhunter from Mrs. Baird’s Bakery, seeking a labor relations specialist, contacted Jim. He accepted that position and returned to Plano. After Mrs. Baird’s Bakery was acquired by the large Mexican conglomerate, Bimbo International, Jim’s highly successful work led to his promotion to Director of Labor Relations.

Jim retired from Bimbo International at the age of 72. He was appointed as a Trustee of the Northern California Bakery and Confectionary Health and Welfare Trust Fund that administers the health insurance benefits for union members throughout Northern California. He kept that position until his death.

In addition, following in the footsteps of his ancestors, Jim petitioned to become a Mason at Plano Lodge 768. In September 2014 he was raised to the degree of a Master Mason.

Jim is survived by his wife, Jill Elaine Hood; daughter, Susan Katherine Coffman and her husband Glenn Coffman; grandchildren, Brandi Coffman, Natalee Coffman, Leah Coffman, David Coffman, and Joshua Hernandez; great-grandchild Lily Brown; brothers Ellwood Richard Hood and Gregory Leigh Hood; sister, Nancy Elizabeth Hood, eight nephews and nieces, and a large host of friends and former business acquaintances.

His was predeceased by his parents and his daughter, Laura Elaine Wells.

A memorial service will be held in the chapel at Christ Church, Plano,4550 Legacy Dr, Plano, Texas 75024 on Monday, June 11 at 1:30 pm. There will be a private interment of ashes at the church columbarium at a later date. In lieu of flowers, if desired, please make a contribution in Jim’s name to the SPCA of Texas.