James (“Jim”) Wicker, passed away on July 3rd, 2022, right before the fireworks began for most of Indiana. He was born in Indianapolis on January 13, 1945 to Merrill and Louise Wicker.

Jim worked for General Motors Allison’s for many years, moving to Greene County after retirement.

Jim was a master teller of the tallest of tales. Some would say he was full of it; his kids would argue that he was full of magic. He caught the heck out of the fishes and they grew greatly in length, weight and quantity with each retelling. Jim had a bottomless bucket of hope and shared it freely with everyone he knew. “Somebody’s gonna win; why not me?” was his approach in life. He believed that better luck was waiting just around the corner. He was witty and wily and smilingly unapologetic when his sense of humor clashed with your sense of propriety; Jim was an equal opportunity offender. Some would say that Jim was born a hundred years too late and that he would’ve made a great pioneer, taming the wild west and finding the biggest chunks of gold. He did have an eagle eye for finding treasure (like wheat pennies and buffalo nickels) but his kids think he’d have made an even better pirate. His wins covered his losses right up through the end of his days on this Earth. He is in Heaven now, cracking jokes, smiling at the ladies, and charming the fishes right out of God’s biggest private lake. The one marked clearly with the “No Trespassing” signs.

Jim was preceded in death by his father and mother, his sister Frances, and three brothers: Junior, Johnny, and Harold (“Bud”).

Jim is survived by three brothers: Chuck, Fred, and Kenny. He is also survived by his six children: Stacey, Jim, Jennie, Scott, Kristie, and Karrie, as well as numerous grandchildren: Emma, Abby, Allen, Coan, Emmett, Rosie, Koltin, Oliver, Lincoln, Chevy, Eveleigh, Delilah, Jack, Adrian, Annabelle, Madeline, Karreline, and Mary Ann.

A Celebration of Life memorial is planned for July 16 at the West Shelter at Shakamak State Park. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Alzheimer’s Association www.alz.org.