ROY L. JAMES

Roy James, 69 of Devils Lake, ND passed away early Thursday morning, February 19, 2015 at Mercy Hospital, Devils Lake. Funeral Services will be held on Thursday, February 26, 2015 at 1:00 P.M. at the First United Methodist Church, Devils Lake with Rev. Lori Broschat officiating. Burial will be in the Devils Lake Cemetery. Visitation will be held at the Gilbertson Funeral Home, Devils Lake on Wednesday from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. and on Thursday at the church one hour prior to the funeral service. Roy Lee, son of Alex and Vera (Garrison) James was born on July 29, 1945 in the historic Coghlan Castle, rural St. John, ND. He lived most of his life in the St. John area where he attended St. John Public School and graduated from St. John High School with the class of 1963. He worked at Westside Service in Rolla until 1976 when he began his career with the North Dakota Department of Transportation. He worked in highway maintenance with the Rolla crew until his mother passed away and then in 2001, he transferred to the Devils Lake Sign Crew where he finished his 31-year career, retiring in 2007. Roy married LauraLou LeBlanc in 1962, and they were the proud parents of Kim, Lee and Tracy. In addition to his career with the NDDOT, Roy worked side by side with his father and then took care of his Mother so she could remain on the farm until her death in 2001. On May 13, 2000, Roy was united in marriage to Sheryl Atherton and felt blessed to be a part of the lives of her children Jolene and Jessica. He and Sheryl were able to enjoy several years of retirement and love of the land and horses. He especially loved foaling time. He enjoyed cooking, tinkering and remodeling in the house or the barns or just finding a way to make things better. He also had a weakness for infomercials and what new gadgets he "had to have"! Roy was a member of many horse organizations and the First United Methodist Church of Devils Lake. Roy and Sheryl crammed a lifetime in those short 15 years. They shared their passion for horses and devoted most of their time building and perfecting their small herd and raising the babies. They were charter members of both the Dakota 50-50 Futurity and Minnesota 50-50 Futurity where they sold many of their colts. They finally received what Roy felt was the ultimate reward by receiving the "Breeders Award" in 2014. They also showed some of their babies at the Red River Valley International Select Sire Futurity. There again, in 2014, one of his colts won the futurity. His stallion, again in 2014, was a national top-10 winner. He has sold some of his horses all over the world, including France, England, Canada, and Hawaii. Our dear Lord was good to Roy this last year before he called him to His Heavenly home. Roy is survived by his beloved wife Sheryl; children Kim (Mike) Franz, Mandan, ND, Lee (Lisa) James and Tracy (Rick) Fillbrandt all of Bismarck, ND; step daughters Jolene (Richard) Wee and Jessica Schepp of Devils Lake; grandchildren Gary (Amy) Franz, Chris (Beverly) Franz, Dan (Ashly) Franz-Sara James-Jamie Fillbrandt, Jim Fillbrandt and Dylan Wee; great grandchildren Emma, Laura and Penelope; his “2nd Mom” Jean Stewart; siblings Betty (Vernon) Gustafson, Joy Berginski and Jill Parisien all of St. John and John James of Wyoming; many nieces, nephews and cousins also survive. He was preceded in death by his parents; sisters Jean Vandal and Faye Indvik; brother Pat James and mother-in-law Alice Atherton. Honorary Bearers will be Rex Baker, Duainne Ash, Bob Kuch, Merle Henke, Delano Kurtz and John Kuntz. Music will be provided by Lori Broschat and Lynda Pearson.