Son of Leroy C. and Mabel J. (Goodwin) Larkin, he was born in Kansas City, KS on September 29, 1935. He went to Wyandotte High School and then joined the military in 1956-1958.
He decided to follow in his father's footsteps and became a firefighter and gladly served his community for 33 years.
He met the love of his life, Sally S. DuRossette and had a long and fulfilling marriage of 54 years. They met at a wedding, when Jim’s uncle married Sally’s grandmother, we always thought it funny that our great grandparents were also our great aunt and uncle!
He felt compelled to serve his country during the Vietnam war and re-enlisted again and was stationed in Germany from 1970-1972 with his wife and 4 children. While there they adopted a 3-year-old German girl named Claudia who ended up being his caregiver for the last 2 years of his life. Who knew that the Lord had a plan in place for this.
After returning to the United States, he continued his career as a firefighter, went to KCK Community College and earned an associate's degree in fire science. He was eventually promoted to Captain then District Chief and retired as Assistant Chief, 3rd in command for the KCK Fire Department.
During all this time, he continued to serve his country again in the Army Reserve, retiring with full military benefits in 1991.
He enjoyed fishing, or “rearranging his tackle box” as Sally would say, boating and spending time at Pomme de Terre lake where they had a small house. They also had their motor home and they drove all over the US to see family and friends. They would find a little church no matter what state they were visiting so that they could be in the house of the Lord to worship and hear the Gospel.
He liked to watch football and had the privilege of seeing the Kansas City Chiefs win 4 Superbowls, not many people can say that!
He was a patriot through and through and had a love for military veterans and as often as he could, he would go to funerals for veterans that had no one else, he would stand at attention and salute them, to give them the honor that they deserved for their service.
He was a Patriot Guard member and rode his motorcycle with them until he couldn’t ride anymore. He continued to attend these services to show his respect.
Throughout his life, he was strong in his faith and loved his Lord Jesus and he was involved in his church and Bible studies and mission trips. His life verse is Job 19:25 “I know that my redeemer lives and that in the end He will stand on the earth.”
He was preceded in death by his mother, father and brother, stepparents, aunts, uncles, in-laws and his beloved wife, Sally Sue and a granddaughter Erika.
He is survived by his children, Brenda Holler, Jim Larkin and his wife Chris, Colleen Funk, her husband Alan, Claudia Larkin and Susan Gutierrez, 13 grandchildren and 15 great grandchildren.
We would like to acknowledge the caregivers of Just Like Home for taking wonderful care of our father for the last 2 years of his life. Patty Nelson, Ingrid Leo, Neissa Rene, Kim Cruz, Jann Walters and his daughter Claudia Larkin.
He was a deeply loved father, husband, and friend. He was very sociable, and we joked that if you’re out somewhere with Jim, you would probably run into someone that he knows!
He was a humble man of integrity, he had a sharp wit and loved to joke around, and he made a friend everywhere he went.
He will be truly missed by so many, but we have comfort in knowing that we will see him again in heaven. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 tells us, “But we do not want you to be uninformed about those who have died, so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died.”
There will be a visitation from 5-8pm at Lenexa Baptist Church on June 4, 2024, the service will be held on June 5, 2024, at 10am at the same location. He will be laid to rest at Leavenworth National Cemetery at 12:30pm.
If you would like to donate in his memory, he would be pleased to see this go toward the Wounded Warrior Project or One for Israel through Lenexa Baptist Church.
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