James Roland Winford

James Roland Winford was born June 5, 1937, in Stigler, Oklahoma, to Raymond Emmitt Winford and Retha Bell Coyle. James was the middle child, with an older sister, Mary, and a younger sister, Helen. His father spent most of his working career at Douglas Aircraft. His mother was a homemaker and quite the gardener. James had a life-long interest in sports and the outdoors and loved to fish and hunt. His family moved to Tulsa when he was 8 years old. He loved life in Tulsa, excelled in math and learned to be a machinist in high school.

He graduated from Tulsa's Central High School, class of 1955. Shortly after graduation, James met his future wife, Doris Childers, who was born in Arizona and raised in California. Her father's job called upon him to travel extensively, so Doris and her family often came to Tulsa to visit relatives and even stayed with them for extended periods of time. It was during one of these visits that Doris went on a blind date arranged by her aunt. Imagine the impression James made when he drove up in a 1956 Ford Sunliner with a retractable top, a manual transmission and a leather interior! Doris learned to drive in that car and after about four months, James popped the question. They married on September 29,1956 and spent the next 65 years together! The couple settled in Tulsa and raised their family in their current home, where they have resided for the past 40-plus years!

James was primarily a machinist by trade, but he had many other talents and interests. At one time, he owned his own sports shop . . . sort of a miniature Cabela's, where he repaired guns, made custom fishing lures and sold a variety of sporting goods. However, after only a few years in business, thieves cleaned out the store and he was forced close up shop. Over the years, James branched out to a variety of vocations, but usually returned his machinist roots. Eventually, he got into the sign business, a trade that allowed him to use his creative abilities alongside his engineering and fabrication skills. He went on to design and build several landmark signs in the Tulsa area including Chrystal's Pizza and Casa Bonita as well as even a few Taco Buenos, which proved to be a family favorite. He spent 15 years in the sign business and retired in about 1999.

James and Doris worked together as a team. James' mother taught Doris all about quilting and according to Doris, she was the best mother-in-law ever! Doris has been a quilter for 30 years and developed her hobby into a business. James' math skills came in handy when it came to calculating measurements for quilts. James measured and Doris cut! Recently, he gave her the measurements for her latest quilt creation from his hospital bed!

About six years ago, at age 78, James developed blood clots in his lungs and nearly died. He was hospitalized for three weeks and miraculously recovered. James and Doris were blessed to have six more years together.

During his final days, James continued to display his strong will and desire to live. He was coherent, displayed his good sense of humor and never complained about pain right up to the end. It was as if he told his family, "I love you all and I am going to go to sleep now." His was a peaceful departure, surrounded by family, on Thursday, February 24, 2022, 1:45 p.m., at the age of 84.

James and Doris had five children together - Dianna born 1957, Jimmy in 1959, Karla in 1963, Shellie in 1969, and Tony in 1971. James and Doris also had the joy of raising two granddaughters - Raven and Toni. They are also blessed with 15 other grandchildren and 25 great grandchildren. All because two people fell in love and were happily married for 65 years.