James John Honeyfield

10/24/76 -8/24/21

James was born on October 24, 1976 in Escondido, California. At 10 months old, the family moved to Palm Desert, California and then to Cherry Valley, California in 1981; where he has been a resident since. James attended schools in Beaumont until his high school graduation in 1994. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree from UC Davis in 2000 and an MBA from the University of Phoenix in 2011.

James loved playing sports growing up. In 1992, he was a member of the Beaumont Little League Senior All-star team which won the district and section finals and competed in the state finals. In high school, James lettered in baseball, basketball and football. He started his collegiate career at Mt. San Jacinto Junior College where he played football and baseball. He then transferred to San Diego State University to fulfill his dream of playing Division 1 football. After 1 year at San Diego State University, he transferred to UC Davis to finish his bachelors degree and football career. He remained in Davis for one more year working as a substitute teacher and was an assistant coach for the UC Davis football team. James moved back to Beaumont and continued to work as a substitute teacher and helped coach the Beaumont High School football team. James has worked in sales for the last 20 years and was working for Western Integrated Technologies selling and designing hydraulic systems.

James enjoyed many activities outside of work. He had a passion for hunting, fishing, archery, bicycling and boating. He also enjoyed fantasy football and poker with friends. James played Rugby for the Beaumont Bluehawks. He loved traveling to Lake Havasu and spent many days in Arizona. He was an avid duck and dove hunter and enjoyed riding his bike and taking his Labradors, Maggie and Wooter, with him to the San Jacinto Wildlife Area Refuge.

James was in the process of building his dream home in Cherry Valley and was passionate about being an owner/ builder before Covid changed his life. James had a love for people and loved to have engaging discussions about intellectual ideologies but did respect the views of others. People referred to him as the Gentle Giant, the Honeybear, and the Big Cat, and he would smile when called by those names. James could have a conversation with anyone, no one was a stranger. He had a great sense of humor; he would often post the satire “Babylon Bee” that confused some of his friends and relatives. He was often asked for advise and was more that happy to oblige.

James is a descendant of five families from the Mayflower and is a descendant of the Sons of the American Revolution. He is survived by his parents, Jay and Nancy Honeyfield, his brother and sister-in-law Brian and Marie Honeyfield, and their son Steven, his brother and sister-in-law Daniel and Jessica Honeyfield and their two children Leah and Nolan. He is preceded in death by his grandparents John and Edith Spaulding, and AW and Mary Honeyfield. James had many close friends that were also his extended family.

The family has requested that in lieu of flowers donations be sent to the following Go Fund Me page: https://gofund.me/fe9ecd06 where donations will benefit the San Jacinto Wildlife Area Refuge.