Devoted Husband, Father of Two Passes Away After Life of Service
Jim Fuqua Jr., a devoted husband, father, and grandfather, lived a life of service to others. Born on February 12th, 1954, in Tullahoma, Tennessee, Jim grew up with an idyllic childhood, excelling in school and sports.
After high school, he moved to Nashville and attended Vanderbilt University, where he studied chemistry and biology. He joined the track team and was part of the men's basketball roster, although his claim to fame during warm-ups on his first game night involved a memorable back-flop.
Fuqua met his future wife Sena in an elevator, but it took him weeks to muster the courage to ask her out. They married shortly after and spent years moving between Pennsylvania and Houston, Texas, where their two daughters were born. Jim dedicated 32 years to Merck & Co., commuting from Birmingham to Philadelphia while never missing a daughter's track meet or special event.
After retiring from Merck, Fuqua became president at PNP Therapeutics and helped build the oncology division at AbbVie. Diagnosed with rare neuroendocrine cancer in 2015, he kept it under control for many years but eventually retired to focus on being a stay-at-home grandfather.