James Churchwell 1931 - 2025

James Lewis Churchwell passed on March 2, 2025, after suffering a stroke at the age of 93. Born April 21, 1931, in Genesee, Idaho, Jim’s family moved along the Northern Pacific rail line following his father’s job.

He graduated from Ritzville High School and took a few university courses before serving in the Air Force in Okinawa during the Korean War. He returned to complete a bachelor’s degree at Northwest Christian College in Eugene, Oregon, where he made lifelong friends and traveled to the Holy Land. After marrying Bonnie and earning his divinity degree at Phillips University in Enid, Oklahoma, Jim served as a pastor in Colorado and Washington. He loved serving people in the name of Jesus Christ. He visited the sick and imprisoned in Spokane, he fed the hungry at McMinnville’s Community Dinner, he clothed the needy through City Outreach, and he sponsored dozens of children through Compassion International. Jim was blessed by finding love twice in his life. He made friends easily and had a great sense of humor.

Jim is survived by wife, Kathy; daughter, Ann Churchwell; son, Steven Churchwell and family, Crissy, Sarah, and Rachel; daughter, Wendy Sagers and family, John, Robert, and Thomas; daughter, Lisa Bell and husband Wayne; special son and daughter, Jose and Maria Recinos; and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by wife, Bonnie; sister, Helen; brother-in-law, Richard Schell; and parents, James and Elva Churchwell.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 1 p.m. August 2, 2025, at First Presbyterian Church in McMinnville, Oregon. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Church World Service at https://cwsglobal.org/donate-3/.

For more information, or to leave remembrances, visit: https://neptunesociety.com/obituaries/tempe-az/james-churchwell-12269166