Carlton "Jim" M. DeBord

Carlton M. “Jim” DeBord, Jr. of Lancaster, passed away unexpectedly on March 16, 2026. He was born July 2,1938 in Pump Log Hollow in the town of Saltville, VA to Carlton and Rosalie Surber DeBord.

Jim began his career as a teenager working in the steel mill at Colonial Metals in Columbia. He later learned the upholstery trade going to work at Flex Steel in Lancaster. It was at Flex Steel that Jim joined the Upholsterer’s International Union (UIU) where he eventually became a full-time business agent negotiating contracts for thousands of members at plants from New Hampshire to Tennessee. In the 1980s the UIU merged with the United Steelworkers and Jim returned to his roots. In 1990 Jim was appointed as the Secretary-Treasurer of the United Steelworkers for the State of Pennsylvania, where he also became the lobbyist for the union’s legislative efforts in Harrisburg. Despite already being secure in his career, Jim took night classes throughout the late 1980s and into the early 1990s so he could earn his BA in Industrial and Labor Relations from Antioch University and later an MA from St. Francis University.

Through his involvement in legislative affairs Jim became active in Democratic politics where he served as an elected delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2004. Jim was also selected as a Presidential Elector in each of those same years.

As a young man Jim was very involved in weightlifting, competing in various meets throughout the Mid-Atlantic region earning several titles including that of Mr. Lancaster County. In 1960 to help raise money for the U.S. Olympic Weightlifting Team, Jim ran 30 miles from Lancaster to York with 150 pounds in weights on his back. Jim himself only weighed 145 pounds at the time. This effort garnered Jim national attention in various sports and weightlifting magazines. Jim served in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard where he was as an anti-aircraft gunner on a halftrack. Jim loved sports and traveling throughout his life combining his love while attending the summer Olympics in Montreal in 1976; Beijing in 2008 (where he was featured on the Today Show) London in 2012 and Rio in 2016. After his retirement from the United Steelworkers in 2006, Jim travelled to Europe where among other adventures the family reveled in several videos of him running with the bulls in Pamplona.

Spending part of his childhood before coming to Lancaster living in a shack with dirt floors in a coal mining camp in Bishop, WV, Jim never forgot what it was like to go without. While he never accumulated wealth during his life, Jim always thought he had plenty to give to others. Whether that was family, friends or complete strangers, Jim was the first to step up to help. From stopping the family car on a rainy night to give a ride to a family waiting at a bus stop or in recent years where he would cash a monthly pension check to give money to others he saw in need. The stories of those who witnessed these acts of kindness over the years could fill the pages of a book.

Of all his life accomplishments Jim was most proud of his family and found his greatest joy in attending the various events of his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren over the years. Jim is survived by his wife Pamela. His six children, Bruce husband of Debbra; Mark Husband of Diane; Guy husband of Luci; Michele; James husband of Anne Louise; Danielle Witwer wife of Jack; and a stepdaughter Lisa Orriola wife of Vic. In addition, Jim had 11 grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren and three step-grandchildren. Jim is also survived by his two sisters, Iris Johnson and Carol Ainsworth. He was preceded in death by a brother Mickey and a granddaughter Nicole DeBord.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend a memorial gathering in the Ballroom of Lancaster Country Club, 1466 New Holland Pike, Lancaster, PA 17601 on Friday, March 20th 2026 from 6:00 to 8:00 PM.

For anyone wishing to make a contribution in Jim’s memory, the family asks that you please consider a gift to the Schreiber Center for Pediatric Development at

https://www.schreiberpediatric.org/ways-to-give/donate/