James "Jim" Madison Webb

James Madison Webb left us and his Alzheimer’s on June 1, 2024 at the age of 82. Jim, a beloved husband to his wife, bad-joke-sharer with his best friends, and, in his sons’ eyes, the best dad ever, will be deeply missed by all those who were lucky enough to know him.

Jim was born on June 16, 1941 to Frederick and Lorraine Webb in Oak Park, Illinois and he resided in Dolton and Beecher, Illinois during his childhood. Jim was a life-long learner who, after graduation from Beecher High School and through adulthood, enrolled in classes at a number of community colleges and local universities, including the University of Illinois and the University of St. Francis in Joliet. Jim was most proud of the time he spent in the United States Air Force from 1960 to 1963 where, among other things, he developed and honed his mechanical engineering skills and learned how to fix and build seemingly anything. 

After his time in the military and start to his professional life, Jim was introduced to Carol Delrose by mutual friends. They married in September 1969, and by 1973, Jim and Carol had completed their family (save for the subsequent addition of the family dog, Tiger). Jim, his father-in-law, Charles Delrose, and others built the ranch-style house with an acre of backyard adjacent to the DuPage River in Minooka, Illinois where Jim and Carol lived for nearly 45 years. That is where their sons spent every bit of their childhoods (and played thousands of games of baseball, basketball, football, flash-light tag, lefty, hot box, etc.). For work, Jim spent his life at a number of different manufacturing plants serving in various roles, all of which had to do with building, fixing, and maintaining complicated mechanical systems, processes, and machines. He officially retired in 2007, and in 2017 moved to Maricopa, Arizona. 

Jim’s lasting legacy, however, is the impact he had on his family and the important and selfless things he did for them. Jim was a demonstrably thoughtful family man and a compassionate and faithful husband. And, as he had made his goal as a young man, Jim became a living model of how a father should love his children (and eventually their children). Among other things, he was a passionate and successful golfer who taught everyone in the family how to play. 

He introduced his family to his love of the outdoors, the precursor to annual father-son(s) camping trips later in life and many, many fishing excursions, regardless of their success (because, after all, the fish weren’t the point). He showed his sons how to fix cars (which neither can replicate because it came easy to him), landscape and maintain a yard, tear off and replace a roof, paint houses, and build things. He took them to professional sporting events, coached their youth baseball teams (not for the love of the game, but for the love his sons), and built them sandboxes, jungle gyms, baseball backstops, and basketball hoops. He traveled anywhere and everywhere to watch his sons or grandchildren compete or perform. He was everyone’s biggest fan, and always, always advised his family to try anything. After all, he was confident in your success even if you weren’t.   

He also taught his sons fundamental life lessons, which they have applied throughout their lives, including – get the best education possible and enjoy every minute of it, always do a perfect job no matter how menial the task, and of course, family matters most. Through these and other life lessons and by the way he conducted himself, Jim positively impacted the lives of future generations of Webbs and their relatives. Simply put, Jim was a great husband, dad, grandpa, friend, and brother.

Jim was preceded in death to this horrible disease by his older brothers, George and Jon. He is survived by his wife of almost 55 years, Carol, his sons, Eric (and Summer) of Downers Grove, Illinois and Stephen (and Lacey) of Phoenix, Arizona, his grandchildren (Madalyn, Sophia, Siena, Carrick, and Kason), step-grandchildren (Cynthia, Logan, and Avery), his best friends in life (Darrell and Shaikh), and a number of nieces and nephews. 

A funeral will be held for Jim at the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona at 9 a.m. June 24, 2024. In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to the Banner Alzheimer’s Institute of Arizona.