Jim graduated from Bowling Green State University where he met and married his wife, Colleen, of 63 years. Colleen, the love of his life, preceded him in death in 2016.
After graduating Jim joined the Army where he became an army aviator. He flew in Korea along the border between South and North Korea during that war.
Upon returning from Korea he entered private life and became a manufacturing representative for numerous furniture and mattress companies, always excelling to the point of being honored many times as the best of the best annually by the companies he represented.
Jim and Collen lived in Springfield, Missouri; Battle Creek, Michigan; Memphis, Tennessee and finally Oklahoma City, Oklahoma where they settled in 1964.
Jim was able to spend many years with his two grandsons, John and Seth, before their family moved away in 1993. Jim cherished those times. Jim taught them and many others how to scuba dive, and he travelled the world from the Caribbean to The Great Barrier reef exploring what lies below.
Jim was active after his early retirement in 1994 in his church, All Souls’ Episcopal, as a Deacon. He enjoyed home and hospital visits as well as giving sermons and counseling those in need. He was a passionate worker for Habitat for Humanity where he helped install countless kitchen cupboards and hung even more doors.
Jim was driven to help and serve others. He was a difference maker in the life of so many. He will be missed but his impact survives.
While Jim loved life, he loved nothing more than Colleen. He is with her now, and we join him in his happiness.
Jim is survived by two sons, Eric and his wife Kat, whom he considered his daughter, of Dominical, Costa Rica and Matthew of Santa Barbara, California, two grandsons, John of Chicago and Seth of Brooklyn where he lives with his wife Adrienne and Jim’s two great grandsons, Eden and Winter, his sister Barbara Murphy and her husband, Bob Murphy of Virginia, and his sister-in-law Alice Irish of Barberton, Ohio. There are also many nieces and nephews.
There will be a memorial service on March 15th at 11:00am at All Souls’ Church located at 6400 N. Pennsylvania in Oklahoma City. The service will also be live streamed at https://www.facebook.com/allsoulsokc
Memorials can be made to the All Souls’ Anglican Foundation and Habitat for Humanity.
