Obituary for James R. Falge
James R. “Jim” Falge of Springfield, Missouri, passed away peacefully on Thursday, June 16, 2022 at the age of 90. The world lost a wonderful father, husband, grandfather, and man. Those of us left behind are comforted to know he is reunited with his beloved wife, Barbara, his Lord and Savior, and so many friends and family that passed before him.
Jim was born in Birmingham, Michigan in 1931. He served in the US Navy in Monterey, California, where he met and married the love of his life, Barbara Christensen Falge. After finishing his service he took his new Hawaii-born-and-raised wife and baby to the snowy Upper Peninsula of Michigan where he attended Michigan Tech, received a Bachelor’s degree in Forestry, and had three more children.
Jim’s first job with the US Forest Service was in timber management on a ranger station just east of Mt. Rainier in Washington State. He told stories of forest fires, bears, snowshoes, and timber cruises. He was then transferred and became the assistant editor to the forest experiment station in St. Paul, Minnesota for 5 years. While there, he and Barbara purchased (with 4 other couples), 400 wooded acres that included a nice lake. It made for many weekend building projects and lots of great memories for the four young Falges. A fifth was on the way. His last transfer with the forest service was to Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, where he became the Information Chief for 35 states and traveled much more than he liked. He also wanted to live in the country rather than the city and decided to pursue the dream of having his own business. He was doing very well in his forestry career but, in his words, “No amount of success will take the place of a joyful life.” He quit the forest service.
Jim had visited Missouri while in the forest service and stayed at a beautiful farm on a long road that crossed a clear rocky creek several times. He was enchanted and decided to try to find a similar property to build a campground. He zeroed in on the rivers between Rolla and Lebanon, Missouri, and he and his son Robert found an old resort to purchase on the Big Piney River. The girls and Jesse had been visiting Barbara’s family in California. The family reunited there and drove across country once again to start a new life and build Wildwood Safari Campground in Devil’s Elbow, Missouri. What a wonderful family project it turned out to be! There were dumps to be cleaned, canoes and trailers to be purchased, springs and ponds to be found, cabins to be fixed and painted, campsites and utilities to be added, pool and wash house to build, etc. Barbara’s sister Betty’s family came and helped.
Jim loved the outdoors! When Interstate 44 was rerouted through the campground, he and Barbara operated a landscaping business and became realtors, specializing in rural properties. He enjoyed fishing, and was fortunate to have parents who wintered in the Florida Keys. The Falges spent many Christmas vacations with them there, shrimping, fishing, cracking coconuts, and beach combing. And finally, with retirement on the horizon, Jim and the families of two of his children joined together to buy a property on Table Rock Lake. It was a lovely gathering place for the entire family. In his retirement, Jim wrote a couple of books for his family. One called “A Gossipy History of Our Families” that is chock full of entertaining stories and information about our lives and the generations that came before. He also painted, gifting each of his children a cherished painting.
Jim is survived by his 5 children - Janice Nixon (David) of Springdale, AR; Carolyn Hurd (Stephen) of Springfield, MO; Robert Falge of Bentonville, AR; Pamela Slemp (Jeff) of Springfield, MO; and Jesse Falge (Adrianne) of Waynesville, MO; 11 grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren.
Jim’s warm, generous nature, bright, creative mind, love of adventure and willingness to make things happen helped create a multitude of friends with lifelong memories. He will be greatly missed.
A celebration of his life will be held at the Wesley United Methodist Church, 922 W. Republic Road in Springfield on Saturday, June 25, 2022. Visitation at 10 a.m., service at 11 a.m.
If desired, contributions in Jim’s memory may be made to International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. www.ifcj.org
Jim was born in Birmingham, Michigan in 1931. He served in the US Navy in Monterey, California, where he met and married the love of his life, Barbara Christensen Falge. After finishing his service he took his new Hawaii-born-and-raised wife and baby to the snowy Upper Peninsula of Michigan where he attended Michigan Tech, received a Bachelor’s degree in Forestry, and had three more children.
Jim’s first job with the US Forest Service was in timber management on a ranger station just east of Mt. Rainier in Washington State. He told stories of forest fires, bears, snowshoes, and timber cruises. He was then transferred and became the assistant editor to the forest experiment station in St. Paul, Minnesota for 5 years. While there, he and Barbara purchased (with 4 other couples), 400 wooded acres that included a nice lake. It made for many weekend building projects and lots of great memories for the four young Falges. A fifth was on the way. His last transfer with the forest service was to Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, where he became the Information Chief for 35 states and traveled much more than he liked. He also wanted to live in the country rather than the city and decided to pursue the dream of having his own business. He was doing very well in his forestry career but, in his words, “No amount of success will take the place of a joyful life.” He quit the forest service.
Jim had visited Missouri while in the forest service and stayed at a beautiful farm on a long road that crossed a clear rocky creek several times. He was enchanted and decided to try to find a similar property to build a campground. He zeroed in on the rivers between Rolla and Lebanon, Missouri, and he and his son Robert found an old resort to purchase on the Big Piney River. The girls and Jesse had been visiting Barbara’s family in California. The family reunited there and drove across country once again to start a new life and build Wildwood Safari Campground in Devil’s Elbow, Missouri. What a wonderful family project it turned out to be! There were dumps to be cleaned, canoes and trailers to be purchased, springs and ponds to be found, cabins to be fixed and painted, campsites and utilities to be added, pool and wash house to build, etc. Barbara’s sister Betty’s family came and helped.
Jim loved the outdoors! When Interstate 44 was rerouted through the campground, he and Barbara operated a landscaping business and became realtors, specializing in rural properties. He enjoyed fishing, and was fortunate to have parents who wintered in the Florida Keys. The Falges spent many Christmas vacations with them there, shrimping, fishing, cracking coconuts, and beach combing. And finally, with retirement on the horizon, Jim and the families of two of his children joined together to buy a property on Table Rock Lake. It was a lovely gathering place for the entire family. In his retirement, Jim wrote a couple of books for his family. One called “A Gossipy History of Our Families” that is chock full of entertaining stories and information about our lives and the generations that came before. He also painted, gifting each of his children a cherished painting.
Jim is survived by his 5 children - Janice Nixon (David) of Springdale, AR; Carolyn Hurd (Stephen) of Springfield, MO; Robert Falge of Bentonville, AR; Pamela Slemp (Jeff) of Springfield, MO; and Jesse Falge (Adrianne) of Waynesville, MO; 11 grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren.
Jim’s warm, generous nature, bright, creative mind, love of adventure and willingness to make things happen helped create a multitude of friends with lifelong memories. He will be greatly missed.
A celebration of his life will be held at the Wesley United Methodist Church, 922 W. Republic Road in Springfield on Saturday, June 25, 2022. Visitation at 10 a.m., service at 11 a.m.
If desired, contributions in Jim’s memory may be made to International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. www.ifcj.org