James Waugaman

Born October 19, 1959, in Ft. Smith, Arkansas, James Alan Waugaman was the son of James Carl and Lena Mae (Harris) Waugaman. The second of three children, James was welcomed by an older sister, Barbara and would later become a big brother to Ed. When James was a toddler, the Waugaman family moved to Tulsa. They later settled in Bixby where James attended and completed school.

In his youth, James enjoyed playing baseball. In high school, he wrestled, played football, and was a member of DECA. Throughout his lifetime, James’ favorite hobby was fishing. In fact, he may be one of very few who would not allow even six inches of snow fall to stop him from pulling a boat to the lake.

Following high school, James attended the Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology. During that time, he also found a part-time job working at Sears in Woodland Hills Mall. It was there, he first met Chicago native, Marcia Patton. According to Marcia, James was rather relentless in his pursuit and Marcia finally gave in. The couple married on June 11, 1983 in the Bixby Free Will Baptist Church. They established their home in Broken Arrow and became the proud parents of son, Michael (“Kid”) and daughter, Lauren (“Baby girl”).

A dedicated family man, James attended every game or activity his children participated in. He attended all of his son’s baseball games and even coached several of his little league teams. He was also a proud supporter of Lauren and made it to as many soccer games as he possibly could. Great fatherly advice, James was known to say, “You are only becoming what you are becoming today!” We could all learn a lot from that. A loving husband, James doted on Marcia. As a result, she often heard the words, “I love you baby.” When he was trying to get Marcia’s attention and calling her by her name didn’t work, he would call out to “Martha” and boy did that get a response!

James’ second family was his work family. The plant manager of CASECO Manufacturing, James was well thought of at work. Wanting to be the best leader he possibly could, he even took it upon himself to learn Spanish so he could better communicate with his employees. Truth be told, the motivation was to figure out exactly what those speaking Spanish were saying. This, as James was convinced there was quite a bit of cussing going on! Mastering his quest to learn a different language, he also gained much respect from his team for this achievement.

Hard-working, intelligent, kind, witty, adventurous, and stubborn are words that help to describe James. He was a man who enjoyed life to the fullest and when he wasn’t on one of his many fishing outings, he was reading, working a crossword puzzle, playing horseshoes, grilling, gardening, or shooting at a target.

The past few years have been tough for James. Throughout his illness, he made it clear that he was right with God. This certainly brings comfort to his family. James’ last words were spoken to his daughter. James told her that he had lived a happy life and that he had the BEST family!

James passed from this life on Monday, January 25, 2021 at his home with his family by his side. He was 61.

Preceded in death by: his mother, Lena; his brother, Ed and his sister, Barbara, James is survived by: his loving wife, Marcia; his children: Michael and Lauren; his father, James and wife, Sylvia; niece, Ashley Griffin and husband, Dallas along with numerous other nieces, nephews, cousins, other relatives and dear friends.

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