Kent James, 1942-1998
KENT JAMES TOUCHED PEOPLE’S LIVES
OWNER OF JAMES PLUMBING CO. DIES AT 55
Beccy Tanner, Wichita Eagle, February 7, 1998
Kent James adored his family, listened to anybody’s problems and abhorred neckties so much that he vowed he’d never be buried in one.
He won’t be.
And to honor their father, his two sons won’t be wearing ties to his funeral today. Mr. James, owner of James Plumbing Co., died Wednesday after suffering complications from the flu. He was 55. His service will be at 1 p.m. today at Downing & Lahey Mortuary.
Editor’s note: Apparently, someone persuaded Kent to wear a tie for his yearbook portrait.
Born in Wichita, Mr. James was a 1960 graduate of East High School. He and his wife, Alice, were high school sweethearts. In 1964, at age 22, he was in the Army when his mother died and a short time later, his father had a stroke.
“Kent got out of the Army and came home to take care of the family business,” Alice James said.
The family business was James Plumbing Co., and Mr. James, a second-generation plumber, was well-known in the trade around the area. “He always had time to stop and talk with you,” said his friend and competitor, Larry Woodard of Woodard Plumbing.
Another friend, Kevin Scott, will officiate at Mr. James’ funeral today. “We were friends from the day we met,” said Scott, associate minister of the New Zion Baptist Church. “Kent had a unique way of loving people. He was one of those grumpy old men you can’t live without.”
Mr. James’ sons say they will remember their father as a free spirit. “He always told us that he didn’t want to wear a necktie,” Aaron James said. “Mom always threatened to take him to some function where he had to wear one.”
Kevin James said his father was the type “who’d do anything in the free world for you” – including getting his ear pierced at the same time his sons were piercing theirs.
“A lot of people live to be old and they are dead while they are alive,” Aaron James said. “They spend time crippled or not knowing who they are or who their family is.’ My dad never wanted to live long – if he had to live that way. They say the good die young. In this case, I think someone let him cut in line.”
In addition to his wife and sons, all of whom are from Wichita, Mr. James is survived by sisters, Sandra Woolley of Overland Park, Karen Coulson of Albuquerque, and Marlys James-Jolly of Altadena, Calif.
