Thursday, January 19, 2017

Obituary -- James Wilson 1981-2017

Funeral Celebration of Life Services for James Wilson, age 35 of Atchison, Kansas, formerly of Bedford, Iowa who passed away unexpectedly Monday, January 16, 2017 will be held Monday, January 23, 2017 at 10:30 AM at the United Christian Presbyterian Church in Bedford, Iowa. Visitation will be held Sunday at the UCPC Church from 1 to 5 with the family greeting friends. Interment with military rites accorded by the 139AW Airlift Wing out of Sain Joseph, Missouri will be held in the Fairview Cemetery in Bedford, Iowa. Memorials may be given in his name. Memories may be shared with the family at www.ritchiefuneralhome.com. Arrangements were entrusted to the Ritchie Funeral Home of Bedford where we 'Celebrate Life.'

Technical Sergeant James Dee Spencer Wilson, age 35, of Atchison, Kansas formerly of Bedford, Iowa was born March 28, 1981 in Clarinda, Iowa to Jimmie Dale Wilson and Janice Louise Spencer Wilson. James graduated from Bedford High School in 2000. He was baptized in the United Christian Presbyterian Church and recently attended the First Christian Church in Atchison. He was a 3rd Degree Master Mason and member of Taylor Lodge #156.

James attended Iowa State University and worked at Mary Greeley Medical Center in Ames, Iowa. In 2007 Sgt. Wilson joined the Missouri Air National Guard at Rosecrans Air National Guard Base in Saint Joseph, Missouri. That same year he attended basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas where he was awarded Honor Graduate. After graduating from initial training, he worked as both a Traditional Guardsman and as a Signal, Lighting, and Radio Electrician for the Missouri State Department of Transportation where, in James’s own words, “I played in the streets and made the lights work.” In 2012, Sgt. Wilson began full time service at Rosecrans as an Airfields Systems Technician with the 241st Air Traffic Control Squadron. He served in this capacity until the time of his death. 

In 2011, James married the love of his life, Michelle Robertson Lang. James became a father to Maizey the day he married Michelle. He declared his commitment to them both in a beautiful ceremony on October 21st in Walnut Grove, Missouri. In 2013, the couple welcomed a son into their family. James looked to his love of literature to select a name for his precious newborn. Atticus James Spencer Wilson was the light of his father’s life. 

As one friend eloquently stated, “He had a heart of gold, a passionate mind, and a poetic soul.” James was known for his light-hearted, teasing sense of humor. He was a life-long New York Yankees fan. James loved music, and he loved his hometown. If you were looking for James on a Saturday night, you might find him in Bedford playing bass with his band, Nine Years Gone, and laughing the night away. 

Left to cherish his memory are: wife Michelle, daughter Maizey, son Atticus all of Atchison; Parents Jim and Jan of Bedford; Sister Jina and husband Dennis Jackson (Devan, Danyelle) of Grant City, Missouri; Sister Jackie and husband Miles Spainhower (Evan, Emsley) of Maryville, Missouri; Grandmother Wilma Lee Spencer of Bedford; uncle Dennis Spencer and family of Woodbridge, Connecticut; Father and mother-in-law Jamie and Darla Robertson of Elk City, Kansas. James was preceded in death by his nephew Derrick Jackson, his paternal grandparents Kenneth and Sophie Wilson, his maternal grandfather George Spencer, and his aunt Judy Wilson.

Grief is like an ocean, it comes in waves, ebbing and flowing. 
Sometimes the water is calm, and sometimes it is overwhelming. 
All we can do is learn to swim. 
-Vicki Harrison

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