James Oran "J.O." Sanders III's Obituary
James Oran Sanders, III, of Covington, Louisiana, left this world on November 7, 2024. Known by family and friends as Sandy, Jim or J.O., he died peacefully at home to sounds of bullfrogs softly singing him to sleep. He was 83 years old.
James was born at Touro Hospital on January 13, 1941, in New Orleans, Louisiana, though his parents lived in Natchez, Mississippi at the time. His boyhood adventures included bareback rides on his horse Smokey Joe, boy scouts and little league baseball. Eventually his parents and two younger brothers moved to New Orleans, where “Sandy” graduated from Isidore Newman School in 1959. He then attended Sewanee, The University of the South, and graduated in 1963 with a history degree. His big college regret was that there were no girls at Sewanee back then.
After a stint at Tulane Law, he tried his hand at the Francis I. duPont & Co. brokerage training program in New York City. An A score on his final exam sparked his lifelong career as a stockbroker and financial advisor. Across five decades, J.O. built a loyal client base working for brokerage and asset management firms that included PaineWebber, Howard Weil, Legg Mason and Morgan Stanley. He retired from Morgan Stanley as a Senior Vice President in 2019, when he was 78 years old. His colleagues fondly remember how he would brag about a letter he received from an early manager saying he would never make it in the business.
J.O. loved the stock market and making money on real estate ventures, but he had many other interests. An obsession with airplanes led him to earning his pilot’s license and buying an airplane as a young man. He looked forward to weekends when he would take his children on rides in his two-seat Cessna. Family vacations routed through airplane museums and airshows. Trains fascinated him, too, and as J.O. grew older, he would park his beloved Honda Element beside train tracks and watch the railcars roll by for hours. He dabbled in photography, cycling and piano and enjoyed Jimmy Buffet, dry Gin Martinis and dinners at Antoine’s, Galatoire’s and Waffle House. He could sing and was a good dancer. Later in life, he adopted greyhounds that had been retired from the racetrack.
Above all, J.O. loved his family. He was most proud of his six children. A committed husband and father, he never missed a swim meet, horse show, tennis match or ballgame. His wife of 46 years, Nanee, recalls that his children were his heart. He made sure all six could drive stick shift cars and knew when to buy and sell stocks.
J.O. attended Christ Episcopal Church with his family and was a regular sight in the Covington library’s periodical section. When his children were young, he coached their sports teams and always appreciated talented athletes. It’s true that this southpaw supported LSU football, but, if you asked him, he would tell you that Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide was the only team worth watching. In his last days, as winter approached, replays of Alabama football victories filled the TV screen, comforting him until he lost strength and drifted away.
J.O. is survived by his wife, Nanette Louise Marshall Sanders; children, Lee Cummins, Tossy Fogle, Susanna Ringeman, Gretchen Sanders, Eli Sanders and Hannah Sanders; grandchildren, Marigny and Arabella Cummins, Slater and Sanders Fogle, Marshall, Wilson and Oliver Ringeman, and Grant and Brooks Sanders. His brother Charles David Sanders also survives him, along with many wonderful nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents, James Oran Sanders, I, and Thelma Mae Smith Sanders; and his brother Robert Sanders.
In lieu of flowers, contributions in memory of J.O. Sanders may be made to The Nature Conservancy at preserve.nature.org or to The Alzheimer’s Association at alz.org.
Relatives and friends are invited to attend the memorial service on Saturday, February 1, 2025, at 1:00 p.m. at Christ Episcopal Church, 129 North New Hampshire Street, Covington, Louisiana. Visitation begins at 12:15 p.m. in the church foyer. Refreshments will be provided in the Parish Hall following the memorial service.
E. J. Fielding Funeral Home of Covington, Louisiana, is honored to help with funeral arrangements. The Sanders family invites you to share thoughts, memories and condolences by signing an online guestbook at www.ejfieldingfh.com.
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