James was the second child born to Ralph and Virgie Mae Block.  He was born in Hale Center, Hale County Texas on December 30, 1930, which was exactly one year after his older brother William John was born.  James and William were protectors of their younger siblings, Lena, Bobby, and Elda.  They lost their younger brother, Little Joe after only 16 days.  They lived north of Edmonson, Texas for most of their young lives. After a short illness, James passed away on Saturday, June 4, 2022 at his home in Savoy surround by his family.  He will be truly missed.

While in high school in Kress, James was a boxer.  He never lost a match.  However, a deal was made between him and his parents, if he quit boxing then he could drink coffee.  So, his love affair with black coffee began.  Years later, anytime he saw you, he would ask “do you want coffee”?  He would go to the store in Savoy and drink coffee with the gentlemen there, where a lot of the world problems were solved.  If you didn’t want coffee, he would tell you to “go to the doctor, something was wrong with you.”

In 1953, he joined the Army and was stationed at Fort Hood.  He promised his mom that he would not box again after the news of a boxer he fought while in high school, died after a match. He lied!  It was either box or do KP, so he chose to box, but it was a secret.

After his discharge from the Army, he was visiting his grandparents, John and Maggie Davis, he met the love of his life, Mary Deweese.  Mary and her mom Ruby, lived next door to his grandparents.  James and Mary were married in an outdoor ceremony in her mother’s back yard on September 17, 1955.

James and Mary moved to Edmonson where James was a farmer.  They welcomed a son, Glenn in 1956 and Rita, aka Susie was born in 1958.  In 1960, they purchased a farm north east of Savoy.  Their family grew to include Becky in 1961, Dale in 1963 and Randy in 1965.  He farmed part time, raised cattle and Quarter Horses to ride and race.  He taught his sons, and nephews how to raise cattle. He began his working career at Flant Milling Company which was later named Conagra.  He retired after many years of service where he worked various jobs within the company. After retirement, he enjoyed being a ranch foreman, where he worked for many years.  He also enjoyed just riding around and of course drinking coffee. James and Mary also raised two of the granddaughters.

James lost his oldest son Glenn on March 20, 1990 and his daughter Becky on June 18, 2007.  His wife Mary died on March 21, 2013, they enjoyed 58 years of marriage.

James is survived by his sons, Dale Block of Savoy, Randy and Shelia Block of Savoy and Rita and Randy Williams of Denison.  He had six grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren.

The family requests in lieu of flowers, donations to be made to Alzheimer’s association, in his name. They also want to thank Dr. Ted Truly, as well as the VA in Bonham for keeping him healthy for many years.  Their appreciation also goes to Guardian Hospice for their care of him during his last days.

A visitation will be held on Wednesday, June 8, 2022 at 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM at Mullican Little Funeral Home 754 State Hwy 56 E. Bells, Texas 75414. Graveside services will be held Thursday, June 9, 2022 at 11:00 AM at Fairview Cemetery Ravenna, Texas.