In Memory Of

Passing of stepfather, former Marlow Heights police officer:

My stepfather, James (Jim) Sturgess, passed away in Millsboro, Delaware in May 2004. Born and raised in Upper Marlboro, Jim was a former Prince Georges County Deputy Sheriff, Chief of Police for the Marlow Heights Shopping Center Police Department, and municipal police officer for Fenwick Island, Delaware. He was also a Marine during the Korean War, and a Mason. During his long career in law enforcement in the DC area, Jim was also a building engineer for the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (he worked two full time jobs for years). For those that weren’t aware that Marlow Heights had its own police department, they did, and it was located in the parking garage area at the end of the Marlow Heights Shopping Center (next to the Marlow Theater and behind Drug Fair).

I met Jim when I was a teenager, after having moved away from Marlow Heights to West Virginia. He married my mother, Sherlene Sturgess, and in the early 80s they moved to the Millsboro, Delaware area. Jim stayed with law enforcement and became an officer of the Fenwick Island, Delaware, police department. Jim also had a daughter, Carleen, who also attended Benjamin Stoddert Jr. High School and Potomac. Jim was a long time member of his Masonic Lodge in Delaware, as well as member and officer of the Fraternal Order of Police. When I think of Jim, I’m reminded of the song, “Color Him Father”. They don’t come any better than him, and I’ll never forget such a fine man, father, and husband. James Earl Sturgess, 1935-2004.

An article from a PG County paper, “The Bulletin”, that described the Marlow Heights Shopping Center Police Department. My father, Jim Sturgess, is on right, and was a sergeant then. He eventually was promoted to Lieutenant and Chief of Police for the department.