James “Jim” Edward Villwock, 82, passed away peacefully on March 5, 2025, surrounded by family after suffering a traumatic brain injury sustained from a fall on February 16, 2025.
Jim was born on April 25, 1942, in Saginaw, Michigan, to his parents, Karl E. and Mary Josephine Villwock. The family eventually moved to Lincoln, Nebraska in 1950, where Karl and Mary Jo also had daughters Carol and Janet. During high school Jim was a well known basketball player, where he famously shattered the backboard during warmups before a game. After graduating from Papillion in 1960, Jim briefly played ball at Midland College before hanging up his sneakers.
After leaving Midland College, Jim started working at Western Electric in Omaha, Nebraska, where he met his beloved wife, Patricia. They dated for three years before getting married on April 29, 1972. Jim eventually switched careers, working for Tandy Leather, advancing to managing stores in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Peoria, Illinois, Springfield, Missouri, and Oklahoma City.
Jim and Patricia had their daughter Jenna in April of 1985. In 1991, Tandy brought Jim to corporate headquarters in Fort Worth, where he served in a variety of roles. While serving as leather buyer, Jim traveled to 11 countries and traveled across the U.S. helping set up and rebuild stores. Jim proudly retired with 42 years of service at Tandy.
In 2020, Jim was diagnosed with heart failure, where he was given the opportunity to be a part of a new LVAD (Left Ventricular Assist Device) program for heart failure patients that helped extend his life.
In Jim’s final years, he took a deep interest in researching family genealogy on Ancestry.com, and avidly rooted on his favorite teams, including his beloved Nebraska Cornhuskers and Texas Rangers. Jim became a grandfather in 2023, and deeply loved his granddaughter, Leddy.
Jim is survived by his wife, Patrica Villwock; daughter, Jenna Brian; son-in-law, Chris Brian; granddaughter, Leddy; his sisters, Carol Davis and Janet Huddleston; and multiple cousins, nieces, and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you kindly donate to the Baylor LVAD Program, which gave Jim four and a half additional years with his family.
The funeral service is scheduled for 12 p.m. Tuesday, March 18, 2025, in Greenwood’s Live Oak Chapel, 3100 White Settlement Road in Fort Worth.
The Community News
March 14, 2025
