USA MAJ (Ret.) James "Jim" R. West

MAJ (Ret.) James “Jim” Ronnie West, age 63, passed away at his residence on Friday, December 17, 2010. A funeral mass will be held at St. Anne’s Catholic Church at 11:00 AM on Tuesday, December 21, 2010. Burial will follow in Ft. Mitchell National Cemetery. A rosary will be said at Striffler-Hamby Mortuary, 4071 Macon Rd., Columbus at 6:00 PM Monday evening with visitation to follow until 8:00 PM. Flowers are accepted, but memorial contributions may be made to the Wounded Warrior Project at www.woundedwarriorproject.com or to Columbus Hospice at www.columbushospice.com.

Mr. West was born on May 19, 1947 to the late James Harrison West and Omega Pack West. After high school, Jim joined the United States Army and was stationed in Hawaii where he took care of wounded soldiers during the Vietnam War; he then stayed in the U.S. Army Reserves while he studied to gain his Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing from the Medical College of Georgia. Upon graduation he was commissioned into the U.S. Army Nurse Corps where he served until his retirement at the rank of Major. During his military time he achieved several medals: the Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Commendation Medal w/1 OLC, the Army Achievement Medal w/1 OLC, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the Army Occupation Medal, the National Defense Service Medal w/1 SS, the Armed Forces Reserve Medal, the Southwest Asia Service Medal w/3 SS, the Army Service Ribbon, the Overseas Service Ribbon and the Kuwait Liberation Medal. Jim was the Assistant Athletic Director at St. Anne’s Catholic School and was also a board member of the Columbus Youth Soccer Association. He was preceded in death by his brother, Eddie West.

Survivors include his wife of 32 years, Suzanne West of Columbus; three sons, Christopher (Marissa Yi) West of Columbus, Jeremy West of Grundy, VA and Jimmy (Dawne) West; a granddaughter, Lynessa West and two sisters, Faye James and Jennifer West; several nieces and nephews also survive.

Please visit www.shcolumbus.com to express condolences.