of West Palm Beach, FL

June 21, 1935 - October 11, 2021

James ''Jim'' Eugene McAllister was born on June 21, 1935 in Griffithville, Arkansas to Stewart and Alpha (Laferney) McAllister. James also had a stepmom whom they called Cousin Abbie and a stepdad named Thadrick ''Mark'' Lane (all preceded in death). James was a cherished brother to Evelyn Williams, Bedola Fortner (preceded in death), Junie Thurman (preceded in death), Shirley Hopper and Bobby Lane. He was a beloved uncle to many nieces and nephews.
On May 31, 1957, James married Virginia Ann Smith and they had three children, and was affectionately called Dad, Pops, or Popadopalis by Carroll (Nancy) McAllister, Nathan (Robin) McAllister, and Trisha (Mark) Giannetti. He was known as Gramps or Papaw to his nine grandchildren: Xavier (Rebecca) Tabor, Zachary Tabor, Trisha (Eric) Irvin, Joshua (Jessica) McAllister, Jessica (Ben) Brown, Jacob McAllister, Sara Giannetti, Ben (Cynthia) Giannetti, and Caitlyn Giannetti. He had 12 great-grandchildren and one on the way. He enjoyed making his grandchildren laugh by singing them silly riddles and putting objects on top of his head!
In the summer of 1949, James attended a Wesleyan Methodist youth camp in Indiana and asked Jesus Christ to save him from his sins. His life was forever changed. When he was not working as a high school teacher, studying engineering, working at Chrysler (where he worked at the plant building boosters for the Apollo Space program) or General Dynamics (writing manuals for main battle tanks used in the US Army), you could always find James at church, no matter where he was living at the time. His love for life was only surpassed by his love for his Lord. He was a deacon at several churches and a treasurer. However, James was not afraid of manual labor and could also be found working under a bus, mowing the lawn, or making repairs on the church building. He loved to sing and play the harmonica in church. ''Haven of Rest'' was one of his favorite hymns to sing. He was not afraid to share his love for Christ with others.
James and Virginia raised their three children in church and taught them to always keep Christ first. Because of that, they now have a family legacy of children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren that are being raised to love and serve the Lord. Even when James became wheelchair-bound, he never used that as an excuse to stay away from church. His loving wife, Virginia, would push him down the sidewalk to their church in Florida.
James went home to heaven on Monday, October 11, 2021, at his daughter's home in Florida. While we are saddened by the hole left in our hearts, we can be certain that when he opened his eyes in heaven, ''His Lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant''¦'' Matthew 25:21. We can rest in the hope that we will no doubt see him in heaven one day soon.
Visitation will be 12:00 PM Saturday, October 16, 2021 at Roller-Daniel Funeral Home with service to follow at 1:00 PM. The Interment will follow at Welcome Home Cemetery in Des Arc, Arkansas.
Online guestbook: rollerfuneralhomes.com/searcy

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