SEWANEE, Tenn. — James Monroe Avent, 99, of Sewanee, retired from the Standard Oil Company as marketing manager, died of cancer at Emerald Hodgson Hospital here. He was the oldest living football alumnus at the University of the South at the time of his death.

He attended Montgomery Bell Academy and was presented with the Boy Scouts of America’s Honor Medal for lifesaving by President William H. Taft in 1911.

His studies at the University of the South was interrupted by World War I, when he went to France to serve as a lieutenant in the Army artillery.

In 1919 he was sent to China by the Standard Oil Company where he spent 30 years.

After retiring from Standard Oil Company her served briefly as comptroller at the University of the South. His wife, Jeannette Nelson died in 1989.

Survivors include a son, James M. Avent, Jr., Jackson Tenn.; two daughters, Jacqueline Avent, Sewanee, and Mayna Nance, Roanoke, Va., six grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.

Note: James’ sister-in-law (Harriet Nelson) was married to the famed WWII submariner, Commander Dudley Walker Morton.