James Horton Burch

James “Jim” Horton Burch, Junior, passed away on Thursday, October 1, 2026, he was born on February 2, 1949, in Atlanta, Georgia to James “Jim” and Emma Harriet “Emily” Burch. He attended Southwest High School and was voted Most Popular by his senior class of 1967. Jim went on to attend Shorter College in Rome, Georgia, where he met the love of his life, Patsy. They married in 1969 and had three sons, Chris, Matt, and Mark.

Jim entered the police force after college and worked as a Police Officer in Floyd County for one year before joining the Georgia Bureau of Investigation in 1978 where he traveled the state on assignments as an undercover narcotics agent. He was promoted to Special Agent in 1979. Throughout his career, Jim was assigned to a number of drug enforcement units, including SCAN, Major Violators Unit, Presidential Task Force, Governor’s Stike Force, Atlanta Weed and Seed, and the Atlanta-Carolina High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA). He was promoted to Assistant Special Agent In Charge in 1990. Jim was known for his excellent investigative work and compassion toward others. Because of Jim, the State of Georgia a safer place for our families and friends.

Throughout his career, Jim was richly involved in his families’ lives and community, coaching his sons’ baseball teams, being involved in his neighborhood, and cultivating meaningful relationships with everyone he came in contact with. After retirement in 2000, he continued to serve his community in many ways, including working with Teen Challenge, rehabilitating rescue animals at Noah’s Ark, and mentoring students in Jasper County and Jackson County.

In 2019, Jim moved to Jackson County, Georgia, from his beloved lake house to be near his family. Nothing brought him more joy than spending time with his grandkids, Jarrett and Natalie, whether that was going to one of their band shows or a tennis match, or just taking the dogs for a ride in the gator.Jim is preceded in death by his wife of 48 years, Patricia “Patsy” Burch. He is survived by his brother, Bruce, (wife, Cindy), his sons, Chris, Mark, and Matt (wife, Mindy), his grandchildren, Jarrett and Natalie, his nephews, Jesse and Coulter (wife, Jayla), and his niece, BrittAnne.

There will be a celebration of the life of Jim Burch on Friday, October 9, 2026, at 11am at Chestnut Mountain Presbyterian Church, 4675 Winder Highway, Flowery Branch, Georgia, 30542. For those unable to attend, the service will be available to view later that day at cmpca.org/burch-memorial.

Contributions in Jim’s memory may be made to Eagle Ranch eagleranch.org The V Foundation donate.v.org The ASPCA aspca.org 

Arrangements by Lawson Funeral Home, 4532 Hwy 53 Hoschton, Ga., 30548. Lawsonfuneralhome.org. 706-654-0966.