Mr. James Gulley

The late Chief (Ret.) James Edward Gulley was born on August 27, 1943 in Greenville, AL to the late Lewis Gulley, Sr. and late Annie Bell Fails Gulley. He departed this life on December 31, 2020 at Baptist South Hospital in Montgomery, AL. James joined the New Hope Missionary Baptist Church at an early age. He later joined The Temple Gate Church, Inc. in Fort Deposit, AL. After relocating to Pensacola, FL, he became a member of the Rising Star Primitive Baptist Church where he served as a faithful Trustee. James graduated Greenville Training School in 1962. He later joined the U.S. Air Force. In 1974, he realized that his calling was to protect and serve the community. In October 1974, he joined the Greenville Police Department as a patrol officer and progressed through the ranks as a lieutenant in 1986. He later joined the Fort Deposit Police Department and continued his career as a police officer. In 1993, he made history by becoming the first black chief of police for the Fort Deposit Police Department. He held this position until his retirement in August 2006. Chief Gulley was a member of the Fraternal Order of Police and Alabama Association of Chiefs of Police. James was married to the late Priscilla Helen Patterson for more than 23 years. He is survived by his five children, Curtis (Doloris) Patterson; Marvin (Linda) Patterson both of Pensacola, FL; Bridget Gulley of Greenville, AL; Anjanetta (Elijah) Hood of Pensacola, FL and Eric Blackmon of Evergreen, AL. He later married the late Alice J. Griffin in 1993 and is survived by his step-children, James (Evelyn) Griffin, Jr. of Braggs, AL; Coleeta (John) Blackmon of Montgomery, AL; and Mae-Francis (Tony) Rogers of Prattville, AL. He is also survived by one brother, Lewis (Yvonne) Gulley, Jr. of Greenville, AL; sixteen grandchildren; eighteen great-grandchildren, and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends. James is preceded in death by his two sisters, Annie Pearl Gulley Peagler and Mary Ann Gulley Powell and stepson Kendarius Griffin. 

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