James Franklin Shanks

James F. Shanks departed from the Earthly world and entered into God’s loving arms on January 21, 2020, at the age of 90. He was the beloved husband of Ina M. (Maudie) Shanks for 69 years. He is preceded in death by his parents Fay and Lawrence Shanks, sister Belva Kelly and brother Charlie Shanks. James is survived by his loving children Cherry L. (Mark) Peterson, R. Bruce (Mary) Shanks, Robin A. (David) Buchanan, Mikal L. (Tammie) Shanks and Tonya J. (Donald) Mashue.

He left behind a legacy of grandchildren- Zachary (Madiha) Peterson, Lloyd James (Katrina) Peterson, Christy (Jon) Oliphant, Barbara (Cory) Kriener, Jacob (Megan) Shanks, Erin (Bill) Berriman, Corey (Momoka) Williamson, Daniel Henrikson, Elizabeth (Katie) Henrikson, Kaleb Buchanan, Samantha (Andrew) Serum, Jeremy Shanks, Paul (Megan) Shanks, Cherry Mashue, Katie (Mike) Presley, Haley (Braylyn) Cotter-Mashue and Jamie Mashue. Jim was a great grandfather to 24 great grandchildren.

His life was well lived - he graduated from Anderson College, he was active in the Church of God Ministries in Illinois and Michigan. He directed many youth camps and loved gardening. Jim was proud to have served in the United States Army National Guard during the Korean Conflict, earning a purple heart, a bronze star and a U.S. merit.

Ministry was Jim’s whole life. He finally retired at the age of 85, after spending over 60 years in ministry.

James will be missed by many.

Visitation will be held on Sunday, January 26th from 4-7 PM at Faith United Church of God, 3290 Walker Ave NW in Grand Rapids. Continued Visitation will take place on Monday, January 27th from 10 AM until the Funeral Service at 11 AM at Faith United Church of God. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Eagle Ridge Church of God in Midland or American Cancer Society.