Deacon James “Jimmie” Flewellen, 92, died Jan. 31. He was a member of the first class of permanent deacons ordained for the Archdiocese of Chicago in 1972, and he ministered at St. Thaddeus Parish.

He was born in Columbus, Georgia, and met his late wife, Isabelle, in high school. They married before he enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1945.

After leaving the Army, he moved his family first to Saginaw, Michigan, and then to Chicago, where he helped build St. Thaddeus church and school, helped start the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in the African-American community, and was active in other community efforts.

In 1960, he and his wife were baptized into the Catholic Church, and in 1970, he began formation as a deacon. He later worked as a federal prison chaplain, serving in Springfield, Missouri from 1985 to 1993, when he returned home to serve at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago.

He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in pastoral studies from Loyola University Chicago, taught in the archdiocese’s diaconate formation program, was a chaplain to the Knights of St. Peter Claver and received the Augustus Tolton Award from the Office of Black Catholics.

He is survived by his son, Jimmie Flewellen Jr.