He faithfully served in the United States Air Force for 10 years of active duty, followed by many years of service in the Army and USAF Reserves. He continued to serve as a police officer in Green River, WY. His law enforcement career brought him to Texas, where he worked for the Denton County District Attorney’s Office in Denton, TX. His talent in computer forensics led to specialized training and certifications. He considered his time working in the Digital Forensic Lab at Fort Worth Police Department as the best job he ever had. He was a reserve officer at Cooke County Sheriff’s Office for many years. His job included courtroom testimony that led to hundreds of guilty convictions, and long prison sentences that resulted in removing murderers, pedophiles, and predators from society. He was an advocate for victims and their families. His brilliant intelligence, articulate speech, and writing skills made him a force to be reckoned with. May God Bless and keep safe all of his supervisors, co-workers, prosecutors, judges, and fellow law enforcement officers. He enjoyed his time working with you all. During his tenure in law enforcement, he earned the nickname of “Old War Dog.”
In the process of his beloved career, he was blessed to have a stable home life with his wife of almost 50 years, Leslie (Jones) Willingham. He encouraged her to have a full life as a mother, artist, Texas Peace Officer, and IAI Certified Forensic Artist. Their family had three sons and grew to include seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
He is survived by his parents, E. W. Willingham and Billie J. Willingham; son Andrew and wife, Lisa; son Kevin and wife, Stacy; grandchildren Shellie and husband, Jordan, Kirsten, Haley, James, Cole, Stella, Asher; great-granddaughter Vayda; sister Donna and husband Jim; brothers Ben and wife, Brenda; Byron; and Mitch and wife, Heather.
He is preceded in death by his son, Daniel, and sister-in-law, Kim.
A celebration of life will be held at 2:00 p.m. Friday, May 26, 2023, at Callisburg Church of Christ, 308 McDaniel St., in Callisburg, TX. The family requests those attending to stay and enjoy a meal with them after the services. We hope you will all meet one another and remember your time with Jim.
There will be no graveside services as he wished to be interred in a family gathering at a later date.
