James Henry Korreck III

James had a way of making himself at home in the hearts of the people around him. He was witty, funny, charismatic, fiercely loyal, and blessed with the kind of smile that didn't simply light up his face—it seemed to give everyone else permission to smile too.

James devoted his life to God and to the people he loved. His faith was not merely something he spoke about, but something woven into the way he cared for others. He loved deeply, laughed easily, and had an uncanny ability to make an ordinary moment into one worth remembering.

A proud graduate of Byron Center High School's class of 2022, James left school with something far more valuable than a diploma: lifelong friendships. He collected people wherever he went, and somehow, those people became family. His circle seemed to grow everywhere he traveled, because James had the rare gift of making people feel like they belonged.

He was an avid Star Wars fan, a golfer, a gamer, an adventurous eater, and an enthusiastic participant in just about anything that gave him an opportunity to have fun with the people he loved. He was always willing to try something new—and he often excelled at whatever it was.

After high school, James began his career as an over-the-road truck driver. The miles may have been long, but James had a way of making connections wherever he went. He built meaningful friendships along the way and continued doing what he had always done best: leaving people better for having known him.

And then there was Ashley.

James and Ashley had just celebrated their engagement, surrounded by the people they loved. They were looking at homes, dreaming about the life they would build together, and planning their wedding. They were in that beautiful, ridiculous, exciting stage of life where the future is full of possibilities and the biggest decisions are supposed to be things like where to live, what color the wedding invitations should be, and who gets to control the thermostat.

James was deeply in love with Ashley, and everyone who saw them together knew it.

He was also blessed with an almost ridiculous number of friends. James was the kind of friend people hope to find in their lifetime—the one who could make you laugh when you didn't feel like laughing, show up when you needed him, and make a memory out of absolutely nothing.

His life was far too short, but it was not small.

James leaves behind a collection of people who were changed simply by having known him. He leaves behind stories that will be told over and over, inside jokes that will somehow remain funny years from now, memories that will hurt before they make us smile, and a love that will not disappear simply because he did.

James is survived by his father, James Henry Korreck Jr.; beloved big sister, Makayla Korreck; and his fiancée and the love of his life, Ashley Bingel. He is also survived by his mother, Rebecca Schonfelder; grandfather, James Henry Korreck Sr.; papa, Ronald Bultema; and countless other family members and close friends who loved him dearly. James was preceded in death by his grandmother, Teresa Bultema.

There are people who spend a lifetime trying to make an impact.

James did it in twenty-three years.

He left fingerprints on more lives than he probably ever realized, and there will be pieces of him scattered everywhere—in a Star Wars reference, on the golf course, playing a video game, a ridiculous food recommendation, a long drive down the highway, an old school story, a familiar laugh, and in the people who will instinctively look for his smile before remembering that they can't.

And perhaps that is the cruelest and most beautiful thing about loving someone like James: he made it very easy to love him, and impossibly hard to imagine a world without him.

The Force may be fictional, but the force of James's love, laughter, friendship, and faith was very real.

May he rest in the peace in which he believed, surrounded by the love he spent his life giving away.

A celebration of James’s life will be held 1 p.m. Thursday, September 3, 2026, with visitation beginning at 11 a.m., at Cook Funeral Home, 2067 84th St. SW, Byron Center, MI 49315.

The family welcomes memories and messages at www.cookcaresbyron.com in their guest book online.