John David James

Our loving husband, father, and grandfather, John David James, 85, passed away peacefully surrounded by his family on Monday, May 8, 2023, in Henderson, Nevada. John was born January 3, 1938, in Liverpool, England to William Griffith Lloyd James and Freda (Mohring). He was the youngest of four children and grew up in Liverpool.

In his youth, John loved to play with his older brother Trevor and pretend to drive buses. He also enjoyed working on farms with cows. In his first job as a teenager, John worked for a dried fruit broker in downtown Liverpool. At the age of 18, he immigrated to the United States where his older siblings lived. He served in the United States Air Force for four years in New York, Hawaii, and Japan. He worked as a commercial driver for Greyhound Bus Line and a few other companies throughout his life. John graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting where he was on the Dean’s List at Golden Gate University. He worked as a corporate accountant, but he missed driving. He owned his own shuttle and limo business in the San Francisco Bay Area.   

John served a mission for his church in the early 1960s in the British Mission. He enjoyed teaching fellow countrymen about the gospel and being back in England for a couple of years. John met his sweetheart, Carolyn Phillips, in San Francisco in the Bay Ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They married and were sealed for time and all eternity on October 15, 1966, in the Oakland Temple.

John made everyone around him feel important. He loved to have conversations with anyone he met. He was good at keeping in touch with family and friends through his many moves. He loved to take drives and trips to many places. He often returned to visit England with his family.

He loved all things transportation. He owned many different cars throughout his life and loved taking his kids to the annual international auto show. Taking walks in the rain reminded him of home. John and Carolyn also loved building their homes. Some were track homes and some were designed by them. In total they built a dozen or so homes together in California, Nevada, and Utah.

John is survived by daughter, Yvonne Hardy (Joe) of Boulder City, NV; his son, Jonathan James (Kim) of Henderson, NV; eight grandchildren; and sister Enid Pence of Santa Barbara, CA. He was preceded in death by his parents, sister Margaret, and brother Trevor.

Funeral Services and Interment will be held on Saturday, May 20 at 10:00 a.m. at the Tonaquint Cemetery Gazebo, 1777 S Dixie Drive, St. George, Utah.

Arrangements are made under the direction of Spilsbury Mortuary, 110 S. Bluff St., St. George, Utah, (435) 673-2454.

Friends and family are invited to sign John’s online guest book at www.spilsburymortuary.com