Dr. James Reley Staples biography: 13 things about Piggott, Arkansas native

Who was Dr. James Reley Staples?

Dr. James Reley Staples was an American doctor born in Piggott, Clay County, Arkansas, USA to Albert Jackson Staples and Lula A. Kerr Staples. James graduated from Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA and held a doctorate from Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona. 

For 50 years, James served as a Southern Baptist pastor, editor and educator. For 10 years, he was a pastor at North Phoenix Baptist Church in Phoenix, Arizona.

For two years, James served as president of the Arizona Baptist Convention. For six years, he was the chairman of its executive board.

Moreover, James served as the president of California Baptist College in Riverside, California, USA for 14 years and chancellor for six years. For two years after his retirement, he was a pastor at Wurtzburg/Kitzingen Baptist Church in Kitzingen, Germany.

James and Elaine Mayberry Staples have two children together. Here are 13 more things about him:

1. In 1942, he married Elaine. On July 8, 1943, she gave birth to their son Albert James “AJ” Staples.
2. On July 22, 1944, his father died in Piggott at age 73.
3. In July 1955, Elaine gave birth to their daughter Renee Staples.
4. On December 26, 1966, his mother died in Piggott at age 87.
5. On February 14, 1971, his brother Albert Wayne Staples died in Piggott at age 68.
6. On February 10, 1977, his brother Paul P. Staples died at age 63.
7. On January 29, 1981, his son AJ died.
8. In 1988, his sister Lottie M. Staples Harris died in Piggott at age 89.
9. On December 15, 1993, his brother John Oth-er Staples died in Piggott died at age 83.
10. On December 20, 1995, his sister Londa Staples Walker died in Piggott at age 99.
11. On August 24, 2002, his sister Bertie Marie Staples Myers O’Neill died in Clay County at age 86.
12. On January 5, 2004, he turned 84.
13. On January 3, 2005, he died in Dallas.

In 2003, James’ great-grandson James Pearson “JP” Staples was born. On May 2, 2024, during a pro-Palestinian protest at the the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi, USA, JP was caught on camera jumping up and down and hooting like a monkey toward graduate student Jaylin R. Smith, who is black.