Photo No. 1132....Submitted by Milton Smith
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James B. Coltharp, Consulting Engineer for Gulf States Utilities Co., closes out a 42-year career when he retires March 1.
A native of Corpus Christi, he joined the company in 1927 in the Beaumont Division. The following year he became a student engineer
in distribution, and in 1929 he was advanced to distribution engineer.
Returned to Beaumont
In the following years he served as assistant district superintendent in Beaumont, assintant superintendent and superintendent of electric
transmission and distribution in Baton Rouge and in 1954 returned to Beaumont as operating superintendent.
Coltharp was named operations manager in 1956, and engineering manager in 1963. In 1968 he was elevated to consulting engineer with the
responsibility of directing construction of the 500,000-volt transmission line which loops through much of the company's 28,000-square mile area.
UT Graduate
A graduate of the University Of Texas with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, Coltharp is also a graduate of the Harvard Business
School Advanced Management Program.
He holds memberships in the Texas Society Of Professional Engineers, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the Beaumont YMCA.
Coltharp is married to the former Mary Alice Theriot of Vinton, La. They have five children, Thomas, Myrtis, Antionettte, Azalee and Marcellus.