James Richard Dustman

James Richard Dustman was born April 09, 1946 in Shawnee, OK, to Dessie Carmon and Virginia Lou Dustman. James passed from this life while surrounded by family at 11:57 AM, Monday, January 20, 2025, in Oklahoma City.

James was a born and raised a Shawnee boy and made the town his home for the majority of his life. He attended Shawnee schools all the way through from the old Harrison school days until graduation from Shawnee High in 1964. He had an enormous number of friends who could each share many great stories about how he touched their lives. They could also share with you many stories of some rowdy adventures and mischief that James found himself in on occasion. James will enter legendary status in Shawnee with his passing, and we expect the stories and his name to live-on for generations to come.

After graduating from high school James enlisted into the United States Army and began service to his country on December 06, 1965, at Fort Benning, GA. He became a “Screaming Eagle” with the 101st Airborne Division and served valiantly in Vietnam from October 19, 1967 to October 18, 1968. James rarely discussed his time in Vietnam. In fact, he never discussed it until his later years when he was active with the VFW and other veteran groups. Even then, however, the discussions were brief and rare. We know he saw a lot. He was a true soldier. His valor earned him high decorations including the Bronze Star. James was honorably discharged from active service in 1968 and continued with the Army Reserves as a sergeant for many years.

Some months after his return from Vietnam, James began a long and successful career at Tinker Air Force Base as a civilian while also earning and associates degree at Seminole State. His hard work ethic earned him many promotions and awards at Tinker. One of his last orders there was leading a large team with the responsibility of successfully transferring operations from the San Antonio facility to Oklahoma City. He spent a lot of hours and effort with this duty and gained many loyal and loving friends along the way. James served at Tinker for over 30 years before retirement.

After retirement, James began to spend much more time doing the things he enjoyed. He began restoring old sports cars and entering car shows. He had a particular fondness for Corvettes and owned several both old and new. Those cars scored high in the shows often and brought home many trophies.

James stayed busy with many other things too. He enjoyed coin collecting, watching old westerns, watching sports, picking up pecans, fishing, going to casinos, spending time with veterans, and having breakfast with friends at Carl’s Junior.

James was a special person to many people. He was a soldier, a hard worker, a friend, a father, a hero to many, a lover of life, and one tough old bird. He will be missed by many.

James was preceded in death by his parents, younger brother Ronnie, daughter, Jami Lyn Dustman, and granddaughter Sarah Elizabeth Dustman.

He is survived by his sister Karen Hawkins; son and daughter-in-law Brent and Lori Dustman; daughter Chanda Dustman; grandchildren Talon Wolfe, Megan Melter, Matt Melter, Daniel Dustman, and Hannah Dustman; and many great-grandchildren, cousins, nieces, and nephews.