James Robert Askins

November 3, 1942 – November 5, 2026

James Robert “Jim” Askins, 84, of Edmond, Oklahoma, died November 5, 2026. He was an engineer and entrepreneur, a devoted husband, father and grandfather. Jim’s life was filled with professional accomplishments, enduring friendships and worldwide adventure. Above all else was the family whose lives he followed with great interest.

Jim was born November 3, 1942, in Oklahoma City to Otto Bartlett Askins and Georgia Belle Jordan. He graduated from Northwest Classen High School and went on to study electrical engineering at the University of Oklahoma. One of five kids, the son of a bail bondsman, he worked his way through college starting as a freshman where he lived in the attic of a rooming house for veterans. He earned free room and board for serving the other residents. He was nearly kicked out of his first engineering course for not bringing a slide rule, a purchase too costly on meager wages. His mother silently tucked $20 into his hip pocket for one. The next year he was brought on as an engineering-trainee with Oklahoma Gas & Electric where he was given various roles as an engineer aide, lineman and lab tech. He continued working for OG&E until completing his degree in May 1966.

He completed General Electric’s Manufacturing Management Program in 1969 after rotations in Oklahoma, Chicago, and Erie, Pennsylvania. Jim said GE gave him a world-class education, an opportunity he remained forever grateful for. With toddler-age daughters, he attended night school at Oklahoma City University and in 1974 earned a Master of Business Administration in Management. He later received a certificate in marketing management from Columbia University’s Graduate Executive Program in 1988.

Jim’s career took him through engineering, manufacturing, and executive leadership positions with General Electric, Honeywell, Control Data, and Sigma USA. In 1989, he founded Cherokee Data in Oklahoma City, building a one-man startup and turned the business into an international distributor of computer storage equipment. The early years required seven-day workweeks and nights sleeping in the office. As the business expanded, he partnered with companies worldwide and would later regale the family with stories of work ventures in China, Japan, Singapore, Taipei, Germany and Hong Kong.

Jim met Debra Jane Ayers in high school. They parked across from each other in the Northwest Classen lot, and so he invited her on a date. Jim and Debra married on November 22, 1963, as a married couple, they enjoyed babysitting their grandkids, every single holiday and special occasion, and occasional travel to London. They raised two daughters, Lori and Jami. Their marriage lasted more than 52 years. He cared for Debra for many years as she battled cancer, before her death on May 26th, 2016.

Jami and Lori knew both their dad’s support—as well as his watchful eye. He painted their portraits when they were little. In their teen years, he put down the paintbrush and recruited friends to keep tabs on them around town. His interest in their lives extended well beyond keeping track of their whereabouts. In 1989, on Lori’s first day as a flight attendant for American Airlines, he appeared at her gate in DFW. More recently, he mentored Jami, who worked with him, in business negotiation and administration.

In November 2016, Jim met Gale Bollinger. Both had lost spouses after marriages spanning half a century. They married in August 2018 and began what the family describes as an amazing second act. Jim and Gale filled their years together with travels and shared experiences. Even COVID couldn’t keep them down. They enjoyed visiting Parga, Greece. They also enjoyed Mexico, and bowl games, OU-Texas weekends with Lori’s family and tours of the Hudson Valley. If nothing else, they’d load up their granddog, Pineapple, and head down to Lake Murvaul for some fishing and relaxing on the porch.

They returned time and again to Jim’s beloved home in South Lake Tahoe, a favorite getaway for the whole family. Jim’s love of adventure extended to diving and rafting down the Colorado River, first with friends and later with his grandson, Thomas—one of his all time favorite trips. He made an agreement to take each Grandchild on a trip of their choice when they turned 12, with only him. That led to Tobey in London, and again with Canon. Paris with Georgia, his favorite granddaughter.

Jim was avidly involved in the lives of his grandchildren. He and Gale bought a home in Edmond which quickly became the family hangout. Jim famously made popcorn shaken in a paper bag while he gathered the grandkids to watch old movies. He taught them life’s most important game: poker. Texas Hold ‘Em soon became a favorite way for the family to spend time together. His poker prodigy, Peter, accompanied him to the casino a dozen times during the last year of his life. Jim rarely missed one of Canon’s volleyball or baseball games or Parker’s tennis matches, and always made time for 18 holes with Thomas and Canon on Black Friday. He was a sounding board for their educational and career interests, taking their ambitions seriously and offering his ear as well as proffering advice. He witnessed many graduations but perhaps his proudest was watching Tobey graduate from the Oklahoma Police Academy in March of 2025.

Faith was integral to his life. When Lori and Jami were growing up Debra and Jim would be at May Ave Methodist Church (now called Cornerstone ) up to three times a week. He enjoyed playing on the church league softball, and Volleyball teams. Currently Every Sunday, he and Gale would attend Sunday school class at Gale’s church, Chapel Hill United Methodist. Afterwards, they’d race down May Ave to make Pastor John’s sermon at Cornerstone Methodist, where he’d been a member for more than fifty years and served on the administrative council.

A lifelong Sooner fan, Jim parked himself in his Santee Lounge Club Seats for every home football game and would road trip to away games with Lonnie Towell and Jerry Dawkins. He played weekly tennis with Lonnie, Gary Clompton and Larry Harris. He loved poker at the Riverwind Casino with his brother JB.

Jim will be remembered for his persistence in whatever he took on and as a powerful force in the lives of those he loved. He cared for Debra through her long illness, and he embraced not just Gale but her entire family. He showed up on the sidelines and sat and talked through his grandkids plans. On top of it all, he was always ready for the next adventure.

He was preceded in death by his late wife, Debra Jane Askins. His parents Georgia Bell Askins and Otto Bartlett Askins and siblings Judy Jones and Jeannie Askins. He is survived by his wife, Gale Bollinger; his daughter Lori Walker and her husband, Brian, and their children, Thomas and Tobey; his daughter Jami West and her children, Georgia and Canon; his stepdaughter Caroline Bollinger and her husband, Thomas Johnstone, and their sons, Peter and Parker; his brother, JB Askins; his sister, Ruby Cole and his sisters-in-law, Gene Ayers and Yvonne Albers. He also leaves a large extended family and many dear friends.

A service celebrating Jim’s life will be held at 2 p.m. on November 21, 2026, at Cornerstone Methodist Church. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made to Cornerstone Methodist Church.