James Russell Rule

Born October 24, 1925 in Noble, Illinois to the late John H. and Inez (Davis) Rule, he married Shirley Davis on April 11, 1948, in East Peoria. She died May 30, 2013, in Greenville, South Carolina. He also was preceded in death by his parents; one son, Walter Lee Rule; one daughter, Dianne Jones; two brothers and three sisters.

Surviving are four grandchildren, Jeremy, Julie, Jennifer and Tim and two sisters.

He was a United States Navy veteran of World War II.

He worked for Caterpillar, Inc. for 34 years, and retired in 1982 from research at the Tech Center and Proving Grounds. In retirement, he worked for the Auto Auction in Morton, Illinois.

He enjoyed fishing, gardening, traveling and spending time with family.

A former member of First Baptist Church of Creve Coeur, he was a member of Morningside Baptist Church of Greenville.

A visitation will be held on Wednesday, August 27, 2025, from 9:00 a.m. until 10:15 a.m. at Thomas McAfee Funeral Homes in Northwest, South Carolina with the funeral service to follow at 10:30 a.m. His burial will be at 1:30 p.m. Friday, August 29, 2025 at Swan Lake Memory Gardens in Peoria. Local arrangements have been entrusted to Preston-Hanley Funeral Homes & Crematory in Creve Coeur.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Morningside Baptist Church, 1115 Pelham Rd., Greenville, SC 29615, https://morningside.org/.

To express condolences online, visit www.preston-hanley.com