Nov. 30, 1938 – Dec. 9, 2025
James Olan Strickland III passed away at his home in Coronado, CA, December 9, 2025 with his wife beside him having shared 46 wonderful years together. Jim was loved and admired by so many and will be remembered for his integrity, long lasting friendships, love, humor, and joy for life. He will be deeply missed by family and friends.
He was born November 30, 1938 in the small town of Pembroke, GA, population 1,039. His mother was Mary Frances Dukes Strickland, Bryan County School System guidance counselor and his father was James Olan Strickland Jr., Standard Oil engineer. Jim, his mother and two sisters, Judy and Mary Frances, lived in Venezuela for several years while their father surveyed through the jungle to locate pipelines.
Jim received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from Florida Southern College, a Master of Public Administration degree from Golden Gate University and Real Estate Appraiser License from the University of Hawaii.
Jim entered the Air Force in 1962 as an aviation cadet, completed navigation and combat crew training and was assigned to the 306th Bomb Wing, McCoy AFB, Florida from 1964 through 1970. As a B-52 navigator/radar navigator, Colonel Strickland flew 237 SE Asia “Arc Light” combat missions during four deployments to Okinawa, Thailand, and Guam, accumulating over 2,000 combat hours. During the Battle of Khe Sanh, Jim participated in the first B-52 close-in bombing support of U.S forces, dropping bombs from 30,000 feet to land one kilometer from friendly troops. In between deployments, he stood cold war nuclear alert missions at McCoy AFB. Jim was a master navigator with over 6,000 hours in various models of the B-52 and was a radar navigator instructor and standardization evaluator.
Following Command and General Staff College, Jim had a follow-on assignment to the Air Force Inspection and Safety Center as an operations inspector in the Readiness Inspection Branch. In 1978 he completed the AF Institute of Technology Education with Industry and graduated the program at Convair General Dynamics in San Diego. At that time he met Sandy in Coronado and they were married in 1979, forming a wonderful combined family of two sons, William and Jason, and three daughters, Jennifer, Kelly and Jenny. Subsequent assignments included contract management at a GE Jet Engine Facility in Ohio developing and producing engines for the B-1 and F-16 aircraft and at Headquarters (Andrews AFB), where he served as director responsible for contract administration and pricing policy and overseeing acquisition, research and development of major weapons systems. In 1992 Jim concluded his Air Force career on the staff of Pacific Air Forces (Hawaii) as Director of Contracting and is a recipient of the Legion of Merit and the Distinguished Flying Cross, Meritorious Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster, Air Medal with 12 oak leaf clusters and the AF Commendation Medal.
Jim and Sandy remained in Hawaii for five years enjoying golf, sailing, SCUBA diving and extensive travel. Jim often flew to the mainland for consulting work and tiring of the long flights insisted on moving back to Coronado. In Coronado, Colonel Strickland served on the boards of the Coronado Historical Association and MOAA Silver Strand Chapter, tutored in Silver Strand Elementary Reader Program, and was Chairman of the City Planning Commission. He also chaired the 2003 and 2008 Residential Standards Improvement Program committees which rewrote Coronado’s zoning to better control the mass and bulk of houses. On November 2, 2024, the City of Coronado selected Jim as one of the honorees for the “Avenue of Heroes.” Jim, with the other honorees, had a banner displayed for six months on Third Avenue. Jim and Sandy owned a boat and are Coronado Yacht Club members, sailing many times in San Diego Bay and to Catalina, Mexico, Los Angeles, etc.
Jim is survived by his wife Sandy, sisters Judith Sims and Mary Frances Billings, five children, seven grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren who are scattered across the country from Washington to Georgia.
Service with full military honors will be held at Miramar National Cemetery on Thursday, March 5, 2026, at 10:30 a.m. Attendees are asked to assemble by 10:15 a.m. Immediately following the ceremony there will be a reception at Coronado Yacht Club, 1631 Strand Way, Coronado. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Coronado Community Church Fund, PO Box 181680, Coronado, CA 92178.
Submitted by the family
