On Wednesday, December 2, 2020, James Merrill Bateman, loving husband, father of five children, and Papa to thirteen grandchildren, passed away at the age of 65 after a well-fought battle against cancer.
Jim was born in Siloam Springs, Arkansas on August 17, 1955 to Reverend Edward and Jackie Bateman. He was a 1973 graduate of Minneapolis High School in Minneapolis, Kansas. He attended Wheaton College and graduated from Wichita State University in 1977. After graduating from college, he worked in the insurance business where he eventually became a general agent for Connecticut Mutual and then Mass Mutual. He went on to a career in financial planning, but ultimately switched careers and started his own business called EnviroTurf. He was married to the love of his life, Nancy Lynne Pelz, for 43 years. Together they raised four daughters and one son. Because he understood God’s immeasurable riches of grace, Jim was radical in his generosity to others and never met a stranger. His family never knew who to expect at Sunday dinner- whether it was a homeless veteran he had recently befriended, a homesick college student, or a discouraged football coach, all were welcome no matter their race or station in life. He loved and was loved by many, but his greatest love was Jesus and telling others about him. The last sentence he spoke before his death was “praise God from whom all blessings flow.” He accepted trials in his life with tenacity and fortitude, including when he had to get a prosthetic eye and wore an eye patch, at which time he happily welcomed the title of “Papa Pirate” which made him the most popular visitor at his grandchildren’s elementary schools. He kept the family GroupMe well supplied with painfully bad dad jokes.
He was a member of First Presbyterian Church, Jackson, MS where he served as deacon, usher and Sunday School teacher. He served on the board of Belhaven University, where he was heavily involved in the athletic and music departments.
He is preceded in death by his brother, John Truett Bateman. He is survived by his wife Nancy Bateman and his children Grace (Mason) Greene, Rachel (Auston) Edwards, Sarah (Guin) Kendrick, Joe (Heather) Bateman, and Jackie (Blake) Langhofer. He is also survived by his parents, Ed and Jackie Bateman, his brother Clayton Morris Bateman, and his sister Grace Rodgers. He was the proud Papa to his thirteen grandchildren: Nancy, Miriam, and Reynolds Greene; Carson, Caleb, Marcus and Lynnlee Edwards; Stella Reese, Phillip and Woods Kendrick; and Wyatt, Brooks, and Clara Langhofer.
The family wishes to thank the staff of Baptist Hospital in Jackson for their compassionate care during the last weeks of his life, especially the nursing staff who showed exceptional professionalism and kindness to Jim and his family in his illness.
Due to the pandemic, the service will be for immediate family only, but will be livestreamed at 2:30 pm CST on Saturday, December 5, 2020 on the First Presbyterian Church website, www.fpcjackson.org. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Belhaven University at https://www.belhaven.edu/giving/default.htm or Reformed University Fellowship at Jackson State University at https://givetoruf.org/Donate?productid=735.
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