James Willie Willingham Jr.

James was born on June 3, 1933, in Brenham, Texas to James and Irene Willingham. After moving to La Porte, Texas and graduating from La Porte High School in 1951, he attended the University of Houston in Houston, Texas where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1955.

James served in the US Army from 1955 to 1957 and was honorably discharged from his final assignment with the 11th Antiaircraft Artillery Missile Battalion on a Nike missile base installation in Connecticut. After the Army, James joined Atlantic Richfield (ARCO) as an engineer in the Corpus Christi, Texas office.

In 1959, James married his beloved wife Helen Hair, and they had two sons, David and Gary, while living in Corpus Christi. Future assignments with ARCO took the family to Tulsa, Oklahoma; Plano, Texas; and Agoura, California. His last position was with ARCO International in Jakarta, Indonesia, after which he and Helen retired back to Plano Texas in 1987. James and Helen enjoyed the retired life - traveling, spending time at their lake house, going to Astros games, and, most of all, spending time with family and friends and their pets.

James was preceded in death by his parents, James and Irene Willingham; his wife of 63 years, Helen Willingham; his oldest son David Willingham; brother Kenneth Willingham and sister Joyce Jackson. He is survived by his son Gary Willingham and wife Sandra; David’s wife Rhonda Willingham; granddaughter Abby Fort and husband Jake; granddaughter Sara Willingham; sister Katherine and many brothers-in-law, nieces, nephews, and other family and friends.

The Willingham family would like to give a special thanks to the Home Support staff at Eagles Trace for the care they provided to James during the last several years of his life.

A funeral service will be held at 1:00 PM on Saturday, November 21, 2026 at Memorial Oaks Funeral Home, 13001 Katy Freeway, Houston, TX 77079. A reception will immediately follow the service. In lieu of flowers, the family would recommend a donation to your local pet rescue.