James "Jim" Ross

James Allen (Jim) Ross, beloved husband, dad, PaPa, and substitute father for many, went to be with his Lord, Jesus, on January 17th. The Lord allowed him to “grace us with his presence” for 77 years.

Jim was born in Coffeyville, Kansas where he met and married his high school sweetheart, Kay Marion Casida. Their marriage was obviously foreordained by God, for years later they found out they were in the same kindergarten class. Thank goodness  Kay never knew about all of his junior high pranks and antics.

Jim graduated from Coffeyville Junior College, where he was a proud member of the 1962 Junior College National Championship Basketball Team. After completing his chemical engineering degree at University of Tulsa, he went to work for Phillips Petroleum Company. His career with Phillips took him many places. Over Jim’s 37 year career, he gained the respect of his staff and teams because he always put them first, would stop and listen, and was able to share his love for God, family, and life.

Upon retirement, Jim used his people skills organizing and leading mission trips to Uganda, Africa where he was a part of building churches and a school, as well as improving farming practices. The years spent evaluating and executing business plans served him and the kingdom of God well. His Ugandan family lovingly refers to him as Papa Jim.

Jim loved his family well, and we were guaranteed to be taken care of when he was around. He always knew the status of our airline flights, and if he saw we were going to miss a connection we would find rental cars and hotel rooms waiting for us when we landed. He also had an uncanny ability to remember the layout of every airport he had passed through and would give us directions in great detail so we wouldn’t get lost, miss a train or fail to find an ice cream cone.

We will miss his funny texts, his sports analysis, and his perfectly placed Christmas lights. His four grandchildren will miss his donut runs, jokes, and “Papa pancakes”. Most of all, we will miss his heartfelt prayers and wise counsel.

Celebration of Life Services will be held on Saturday, May 22, 2021 Restlawn Memorial Park Cemetery at 1pm with Pastor Gary Stevens officiating under the direction of Ford-Wulf-Bruns Chapel.  To leave a message of condolence visit www.fordwulfbrunschapel.com