James Boice

A multi-faceted man – straightforward, hardworking and fiercely independent, protective, yet abundantly kind hearted – these are just a few of the many words that describe James Boice. A man who loved the outdoors, sports, martial arts, and most of all, his family and friends, Jim will be remembered as a man who spent his life balancing hard work with being a devoted husband, father, grandfather and friend.

In 1949, the United States was recovering from the effects of World War II. Harry Truman was elected the nation’s 33rd President, and George Orwell had just published his dystopian novel “Nineteen Eighty-Four”, which became very popular in the U.S. In Grand Rapids, Michigan, Forest O. Boice and his wife, Peggy (French), weren’t paying too close attention to world events, but rather to the well being of their family. Already the proud parents of two daughters, Phyllis and Norma from his first marriage, on August 14, 1949, they were overjoyed with the birth of a son, who they named James. He was soon followed by his brother, David, who completed the Boice household.

The Boices were always close knit, and the two boys were born within 15 months of each other and always had a playmate within their own family. Forest supported his family working at Doehler Jarvis Corp. as a maintenance worker, while Peggy was a teacher of a one-room schoolhouse. Once the children were born, however, she stayed home until they were older and then went to work as a clerk at JC Penney.

Jim enjoyed a typical childhood, complete with Little League baseball and attending Burton Heights Elementary School. Once in high school, he began attending Grand Rapids South High, but did not like it there, so he went to live with his grandmother and took his place among the student body at Kelloggsville High School. Here, Jim excelled as an athlete, playing baseball and football, wherein he broke his nose twice. He was also a member of the Chess and Varsity Clubs. After graduating in 1968, Jim went to play minor league baseball for the Toledo Mud Hens in Toledo, Ohio. Unfortunately, he was only with the team for two months before receiving his draft notice. Wanting to be a Marine, Jim enlisted and became an official “jarhead”, honorably serving in Vietnam for four tours. During his military tours, he became an expert in rifles and pistols.

After being discharged in 1972, Jim came home to his sweetheart, Suzanne Skees, who he had been dating for some time. They were married the next year on April 15th, and were blessed with three children: James A. II, LaDon and Brian. As a family, they loved to go camping in the summers in parks throughout Michigan, but they also took several trips out west to Colorado to visit Suzanne’s family. Unfortunately, Jim and Suzanne’s marriage ended in 1994. But as fate would have it, Jim was not destined to be alone and in 2001, he met a lovely lady named Linda Bellgraph at the Celebration Worship Center, where he was a member. The two were married in February of 2007, at the Worship Center, and then vacationed for a week in Las Vegas.

Jim was always a hard worker and good provider for his family. He was an industrial electrician by trade and worked for various companies over the years, including 29 years at Reynolds Metals, Extruded Metals, Oven Fresh, Paulstra Inc. and ending his working career at Electrolux.

Outside of work, Jim liked to stay active and was passionate about all of his hobbies. He had successfully earned the black belt in Kenpo, the red belt in Go Juri and an orange belt in Taekwondo. Jim also enjoyed pool and had a collection of cues, his favorite being his Richard Black cue. He had a collection of rifles and handguns. One of Jim’s less strong points was his cooking abilities, though he made a mean goulash. He’d eat a huge pot of his goulash in just two days, mostly because no one else liked it. Some of his other favorite foods included pizza from Sluggo’s Pizza, Dr. Pepper, anything with cherries in it, and if dining out at Ruby Tuesday's, Jim always got the juicy rib eye steak. When it came to his listening pleasure, Jim enjoyed oldies and country western movies and when picking up a good book to read, it was mainly by his favorite author, Louis L'Amour.

Jim was a very self-reliant and tenacious person, yet he also possessed a kinder, softer side that his family saw. He was very protective of his loved ones, including his dog, Spike, and he always made sure they had everything they needed. Jim was also well loved among his church family, and he faithfully filmed their church services for many years and could always be counted on to fix something electrical in the church. Those close to Jim knew how much they meant to him, if not by his words, then by his actions of love and dedication.

Sadly, Jim passed away on Wednesday, September 26, 2007, after a courageous battle with cancer. He will be dearly missed by his wife, Linda Bellgraph-Boice; children: James & Marissa Boice, LaDon & Kevin Bazany, Brian & Julie Boice; 5 grandchildren; his brother and sisters: Phyllis & Jack Warner, Norma Fulk, David & Sue Boice; also his special friends, Frank and Lisa Arroyo. A service to celebrate his life will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 29th, at the funeral home. Relatives and friends may meet his family at Heritage Life Story Funeral Home, Van Strien Creston Chapel, 1833 Plainfield NE, Grand Rapids, on Friday, September 28, from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. and one hour prior to the service on Saturday. Memorial contributions in his memory may be made to C.W. Colgrove / memo Word and Worship. Please visit Jim’s memory page at www.lifestorynet.com where you may share a memory with his family and/or sign his online guest book.