Obituary for James P. Dawson
Danville – James P. Dawson, 75, of Danville passed away at 10:09 pm on May 25, 2018 at OSF HealthCare in Urbana.
Jim was born on November 16, 1942 the son of Frances and Anna Mae (Connery) Dawson in Paris, IL. He married Brenda Hall on October 31, 2003 in Danville, IL and she survives.
Survivors include his wife; Brenda of Danville, IL, one son; Doug (Mindy) Dawson of Danville, IL, three daughters; Debbie Dawson of Oakwood, IL, Dena (Dave) Clark of Covington, IN, and Darci (Mick) Dreher of Covington, IN, one brother; Tom (Sue) Dawson of Portland, OR, one step-sister; Peggy (Ralph) Chandler of Arizona, one step-son; Allen McAlpin of Danville, IL, two step-daughters; Heather Munro of Kansas, and Bridgette (David) Frazier of Danville, IL, as well as 20 grandchildren.
Jim is preceded in death by his parents, one brother; Connie Dawson and two sisters; Patsy Smiley and Susie March.
Jim was very patriotic and served in the Navy Reserves for one year. He was a member of the Danville Elks Lodge 332, and a 4th Degree Knight of Columbus member. In his younger years he was very active with the Ellsworth Park Panthers Football program, serving at the President for several years. Jim retired from Lauhoff / Bunge in 2003 where he worked in sales. After retiring, he went to work with his son; Doug, at Dawson Logistics until his passing and was an integral part of the company’s growth. He was an avid St. Louis Cardinals fan, enjoyed traveling to Cancun, telling jokes, making people laugh, and gave everyone a nickname. Jim always enjoyed meeting new and different people and when he met someone new, he wanted to know where they were from. Jim loved Halloween, even marrying Brenda on Halloween in 2003. Over the years he wrote Halloween Ghost Rally scripts for those invited to complete and attend a party at the final destination. Jim was a very passionate person. Whether it be professionally, personally or with an organization, when he worked on a task, it had to be perfect.
A Celebration of Life Service will be held at 10:00 AM on Thursday May 31, 2018 at Sunset Funeral Home and Cremation Center, 3940 N. Vermilion Street, Danville, IL. Miles Clark will officiate. Burial will be in Sunset Memorial Park. Visitation will be held from 5:00 – 8:00 pm on Wednesday, May 30, 2018 at the funeral home.
The family would like to extend a special Thank You to the Nurses and Staff at OSF HealthCare; especially Jean, for the wonderful care they provided Jim during his stay.
Please join Jim’s family in sharing memories, photos, and videos on his tribute wall at www.sunsetfuneralhome.com. |