By Toye Sue Parks
JAMES E. “BUSTER” HAIRSTON (1949-2023) – James Edward Hairston was born on Derby Saturday, May 7, 1949, in Portsmouth, Ohio. He was the son of the late Edward Harry “Bud” Hairston and Mrs. June Scott Hairston Matthews. James grew up in the home of his mother’s parents, Dr. and Mrs. James F. Scott, Sr., and it was his grandfather, Dr. Scott, who gave him the lifelong nickname of “Buster” when he was a child.
In 1963, at the tender age of 14, James Edward accompanied his mother and grandmother in a group of Portsmouth residents to the March on Washington For Jobs and Freedom, where they witnessed Martin Luther King’s famous “I Have A Dream” speech. He was a 1967 graduate of Portsmouth High School, and he attended the Ohio State University, Rio Grande College, and the Southern Ohio Manpower & Technical Training Center.
James went on to become a 1967 graduate of Portsmouth High School. He attended Ohio State University, Rio Grande College and the Southern Ohio Manpower & Technical Training Center. He was married to the former Emma She’re Cobb of Portsmouth, and they had two sons, Rodney Edward, and Jarrod Eugene Hairston. James and his young family moved to Columbus, Ohio in 1972, where he was employed as a draftsman by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. At the ODNR, he was the cartographer of several maps that were published in the Kent State University Press textbook “The Geography of Ohio.” James and She’re were later divorced.
While still living in Columbus, James met Verona Gail Terry and they became a committed couple. Over the next few years, James and Verona became the parents of daughters Tanya Marie and Toyia Nicole Terry. After completing coursework at Columbus State University and passing the Ohio Real Estate Salesperson’s Exam, James was later employed as a residential sales agent at the Harris Realty Company in Columbus and received several sales awards.
James and family relocated to Michigan in 1979, where he was initially employed in Flint and later in Detroit as a senior manager with United Acquisitions, Inc., a Wendy’s franchise organization partially owned by his uncle, Robert Scott. His ambitions eventually motivated him to establish a business of his own. His first experience was the ownership and operation of a Dawn Donut shop in Mt. Morris, Michigan. He soon seized the opportunity to open and operate a Shell gas station and convenience store, which was proudly known as “Jim Hairston’s Downtown Food Mart.” When his sons, Rodney and Jarrod, joined him in Flint, they worked in their dad’s business while they were in high school. While in business, James was known for helping people in need of jobs and other resources.
By 1993, the depressed economy in Flint at the time prompted James to close his business and return to Portsmouth to help care for his terminally ill mother, June, and elderly grandmother, Mrs. Scott.
Upon his return to Portsmouth, James became acquainted with Teresa Margaret McNeer, and they married in 1997. Once again, his enterprising spirit kicked in and he and Teresa purchased and renovated an entertainment venue in Portsmouth’s Northend community that had once been a segregated movie theater in the 1930s. They called the venue The Silver Moon, as a tribute to his father, Bud, who had once owned an entertainment venue of the same name. The Silver Moon was the last Black-owned entertainment venue of its kind in Portsmouth and has since been closed and demolished.
James began suffering from severe heart disease when he was in his late forties but continued to work a number of jobs in and around the Portsmouth area. He had strong faith and God and ample spiritual support. He enjoyed life and outlived his initial diagnosis by over 20 years! He greatly enjoyed working with young people and his final position as an AAA driving instructor brought him much joy.
James also loved family and served as president of the Scott, Carter Mumford Family Reunion Committee which held its 100th anniversary reunion in 2011 with nearly 350 people in attendance. During the 26 years of his marriage to Teresa, he bonded closely with her two children Drew and Lauren Applegate and grandchildren, Gavin, Whitney, Marlee, Terpsi and River, all of Portsmouth.
Besides his parents and grandparents, James was preceded in death by his stepfather and stepbrother, Eustace P. Matthews, Jr., and Eustace P. Matthews, III, and his grandaunt, Olive Goings Melvin (Bill), all formerly of Portsmouth.
Left to mourn his passing are his children: Rodney E. (Juanita) Hairston of Reynoldsburg, Ohio, Jarrod E. Hairston of Columbus, Tanya M. Terry of Flint and Toyia N. (Rafael) Turner of Grand Blanc, Michigan; grandchildren: Cheyenne Marie, Raini Elena, Shawnee She’re, and Sydni Lynn Hairston, of Reynoldsburg, Rocco Cameron and Rocsi Celia Turner of Grand Blanc, Michigan; siblings: Gary (Marilyn) Hairston of Portsmouth, Russell E. (Julia) Hairston of Cincinnati, Ohio, Toye Sue (Douglas) Parks, of Atlanta, Georgia, Richard W. (Debbie) Hairston of Mason, Ohio, Jenny Lynne (Steven) Johnson of Westerville, Ohio, Tracey A. Hairston of Wheelersburg, Ohio, Kathey L. (Michael) Malone and Valerie M. Carson of Portsmouth; niece Sharon Lea Maxwell of Chamblee, Georgia, and the youngest mourner of all, little great-granddaughter, Solana Rey.
Private services are being held by the family November 15, with burial in Greenlawn Cemetery under the direction of Ralph F. Scott Funeral Home in Portsmouth.
Although James E. “Buster” Hairston died at the age of 74, he lived a life as rich and full as some people who live to be 100. He will always be remembered and loved.
