Son of Rev. Winona "Buck" Walters & Lillie (Cooper) Walters Watkins, later step-son of Joe Watkins. Born in Gurdon, but raised mainly in Half Moon, AR. Raised in the Baptist faith. Known as James, Jay, J.L., & John Brown. Youngest brother of Hazel (Walters) Bigham [don't know husband's name], Evelyn (Walters) Springer [Russell], & William "Billy" Walters, all of whom preceded him in death. James' father was killed in a car accident in 1935, when James was 6; his beloved mother preceded him in death in 1950. James served his country in Korea, 1950-1951. Married Bonnie Stanley in late 1958, 2 step-children, Kenny & Connie, 1 daughter, Sherrie (Walters) Bergman [Jeffrey---later divorced]. James then moved to Benson, AZ & eventually became a plant supervisor at Apache Powder in Benson. James worked at Apache Powder from 1961-1982. Married to Martha (Bryant) Heathman in August 1965, 3 step-children, Steven Heathman, Julie (Heathman) Morgan [Jeffrey], Melody (Heathman) Couch [Bradley]; 4 daughters, Kandi (Walters) Dickinson [Raymond], Lillie Walters, Nancy (Walters) Rzeznikiewicz [Alan], April Walters. Martha preceded James in death in 1988. James moved to Blytheville in 1984 & worked at Randall Corp. (no longer in existence) as a production worker from 1984-1991. From 1994-2003, James worked as a security guard at the Blytheville Compress. James also drove a van for the Mississippi County Senior Center & was one of their favored drivers. Married Dawn (Wilkinson) Hodge on Christmas Eve, 1997. James was the immensely proud grandfather of 8 grandchildren, Savannah & Stevie Rzeznikiewicz, Thomas & Timothy Couch, Terri & Brittany Morgan, Jenna & Michael Bergman, the last two of which, regrettably, James never got to meet. James never strayed from his Baptist faith & never doubted his Savior Jesus, even while suffering from several kinds of cancer & an aneurism. James gave up the fight in the early morning hours of 09/01/05 at the River Oaks Care Center in Steele, MO, & met his Savior & was reunited with his beloved mother & father. Everyone who met James agreed on one attribute of his personality: he was the gentlest of men.
Son of Rev. Winona "Buck" Walters & Lillie (Cooper) Walters Watkins, later step-son of Joe Watkins. Born in Gurdon, but raised mainly in Half Moon, AR. Raised in the Baptist faith. Known as James, Jay, J.L., & John Brown. Youngest brother of Hazel (Walters) Bigham [don't know husband's name], Evelyn (Walters) Springer [Russell], & William "Billy" Walters, all of whom preceded him in death. James' father was killed in a car accident in 1935, when James was 6; his beloved mother preceded him in death in 1950. James served his country in Korea, 1950-1951. Married Bonnie Stanley in late 1958, 2 step-children, Kenny & Connie, 1 daughter, Sherrie (Walters) Bergman [Jeffrey---later divorced]. James then moved to Benson, AZ & eventually became a plant supervisor at Apache Powder in Benson. James worked at Apache Powder from 1961-1982. Married to Martha (Bryant) Heathman in August 1965, 3 step-children, Steven Heathman, Julie (Heathman) Morgan [Jeffrey], Melody (Heathman) Couch [Bradley]; 4 daughters, Kandi (Walters) Dickinson [Raymond], Lillie Walters, Nancy (Walters) Rzeznikiewicz [Alan], April Walters. Martha preceded James in death in 1988. James moved to Blytheville in 1984 & worked at Randall Corp. (no longer in existence) as a production worker from 1984-1991. From 1994-2003, James worked as a security guard at the Blytheville Compress. James also drove a van for the Mississippi County Senior Center & was one of their favored drivers. Married Dawn (Wilkinson) Hodge on Christmas Eve, 1997. James was the immensely proud grandfather of 8 grandchildren, Savannah & Stevie Rzeznikiewicz, Thomas & Timothy Couch, Terri & Brittany Morgan, Jenna & Michael Bergman, the last two of which, regrettably, James never got to meet. James never strayed from his Baptist faith & never doubted his Savior Jesus, even while suffering from several kinds of cancer & an aneurism. James gave up the fight in the early morning hours of 09/01/05 at the River Oaks Care Center in Steele, MO, & met his Savior & was reunited with his beloved mother & father. Everyone who met James agreed on one attribute of his personality: he was the gentlest of men.
