Over 30 years ago, a group of dedicated animal lovers in Northumberland County gathered to plan a new animal shelter for the county’s feline and canine populations.
They were led by the late Fran Warren, whose energy level inspired everyone she encountered. Wayne Middleton, then the Sheriff of Northumberland County, was a strong supporter of the project, offering the assistance of his office, thus was founded the Friends of the Northumberland County Animal Shelter.
Early on, the group determined that it would need a continuing source of revenue and out of those initial plans emerged the idea of a thrift store that would be a means of giving the animal lovers a venue for helping the shelter, as well as being a service to the entire community. Jo Ann and John Smith initially spearheaded the implementation of the plans, but after their move from the area, the thrift operation passed into the capable hands of Lois and Jim Ogburn.
All of the individuals were volunteers who put their love of animals to the test of being able to bring about a source of revenue for the new animal shelter being constructed at Horsehead. Throughout the course of the effort, Jim Ogburn was literally and metaphorically a true “heavy lifter.”
With Lois handling the day-to-day operation of the store as well as coordinating the volunteers, Jim became the collector par excellence, the front man who came to the donors’ homes, prepared to remove their items, and extend the gracious appreciation of the many workers who were making a better life for the furry populations.
Driving his pickup truck and pulling his large, covered trailer, he would make the rounds gathering up the donations from individuals and businesses alike. On one occasion a family with a large home on Carter Creek in Weems generously donated their entire household of fine furnishings, glass, china, silver, rugs, tools, gardening ornamentations and art to the shelter, as they were moving to Richmond and had a fully furnished home there and one in Florida.
Undaunted by the challenge of handling such a massive inventory, Fran and Lois obtained the use of a large, empty warehouse in Lilian in which to conduct an estate sale. Jim coordinated the ever-willing volunteers and the move from Weems to Lilian began. The process took several days, with Fran and Lois arranging the display as Jim arrived with each truck and trainload. By the opening day of the sale, the display presented the customers with the impression that they had entered a luxury furniture store. In short order, everything was sold, thereby giving the shelter operating funds needed to use in the fulfillment of its mission.
At first, the board of supervisors allowed the store to operate in repurposed school classrooms behind the former elementary school at Lottsburg, before the shelter purchased the present site, an historic house in Burgess, where it has operated since 2019. Jim was the quintessential “happy volunteer.” He enjoyed partnering with his friends in collecting the donations and delivering them to the shelter’s store where they would set them up according to Lois’s design.
Jim’s volunteer work was also his social life—he became friends with other volunteers, donors and customers in the store. He had a truly welcoming personality, and although he worked deliberately, he always made time to chat and enjoy meeting new people. A few years ago, he had to curtail the moving part of the work, as his knees were telling him to slow down and relax. Last month, he died at the age of 71, leaving the Northern Neck a kinder and gentler place than he found it due to his many labors on behalf of the animals he loved.
James Collier Ogburn III, September 16, 1953 – May 3, 2025. R.I.P.
