Command Sergeant Major James R. Flanary

Command Sergeant Major James R. Flanary
Richmond, VA | October 25, 2013

Command Sergeant Major James R. Flanary
CSM Flanary, age 76, passed away October 25, 2013 at Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center in Richmond and has taken his final assignment in Heaven.
James was born in Scott County, VA on May 14, 1937 to the late Lester and Elsie Flanary. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a brother Cecil Flanary.

He is survived by his devoted and loving wife of 55 years Carolyn Elliott Flanary, son, Mark Elliott Flanary, and loyal puppy Abby (daddy's girl), of Richmond, VA; brother, Charles Flanary and wife Carletta of Weber City; several bothers- and sisters-in-law, as well as many nieces and nephews and two very special young ladies, Kayla and Mackenzie Grosser, to whom he was a special grandpa.
He began his distinguished military career by enlisting in the Virginia Army National Guard as a Private in the 1030th Engineer Battalion in March 1955. He worked his way up through the ranks in the Battalion and served in every key enlisted leadership position including Squad Leader, Platoon Sergeant, First Sergeant, and served in the full-time position of Battalion Operations Non-Commissioned Officer. In the early 1970's he was selected for assignment to the senior non-commissioned officer position as Command Sergeant Major of the Battalion. In 1973, he became the first enlisted commandant of the Virginia Army National Guard Noncommissioned Officer Academy.
In 1982, he was selected to become the Virginia Army National Guard's first full-time Command Sergeant Major, the top enlisted position in the State. He held this position until his military retirement in March 1997, culminating in 42 years of military service. During this assignment and in addition to his normal duties, he served on various study groups, advisory panels and boards for the Virginia National Guard and the National Guard Bureau. He was often called upon by the National Guard of other states to assist them in an advisory status. He was the senior enlisted advisor to three Adjutants General of Virginia.
Almost immediately after his military retirement, he continued his service as a state employee in the Post Headquarters at Fort Pickett as a Staff Assistant. He spent the next 14 years serving the Commonwealth in this capacity, retiring on December 11, 2011, making a total of more than 56 years of combined service.
Command Sergeant Major Flanary will forever be remembered for his patriotism and his sincere devotion to his family, his country, his state and the soldiers that he represented. His memory will be cherished by all who knew him.
The family will receive friends, Tuesday, October29th at Gate City Funeral Home from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. or at the residence of Sharon and Darrell Duncan.
Funeral services with full Military Honors will be held Wednesday, October 30th at 2 p.m. in the Gene Falin Memorial Chapel, Gate City Funeral Home with Rev. Don Hanshew and Chaplin J.D. Moore officiating. Military graveside services will follow at Holston View Cemetery, Weber City, VA conducted by The Virginia National Guard Funeral Honors Team, Richmond, VA.
An online guest register is available for the Flanary family at www.gatecityfunerals.com.
Gate City Funeral Home is honored to be serving the family of Command Sergeant Major James R. Flanary.