James “Jim” Alvin Wildman, formerly of S. Charleston, Ohio passed into the arms of his Lord on December 18, 2020 at his Youngstown, Ohio home just 10 days past his 61st birthday. His wife of 40 years and best friend, Mary Christine “Christi” Warren Wildman, was beside him until the end. Jim was born to William Wendell Wildman Jr. and Margaret Anne Richards on December 8, 1959 as the couple’s second eldest son. During his time at SouthEastern High School, Jim graduated as valedictorian and played triple-varsity football, basketball, and tennis -- though he would tell you that varsity tennis didn’t count since no one else could play at all.

In the summer of 1975, Jim met his wife, Christi at the One-Way House in Springfield, Ohio and they were later married in August of 1980 by Grant Edwards of Fellowship Christian Church. After moving to Lafayette, Indiana to attend Purdue University, the pair had five children: Adam D., Jade R., Stephen A., Faith E., and Jakson Q., all of whom survive Jim’s passing.

The concept of “being” as a steady state of existence was not a concept familiar to Jim. “Being” was merely a part of “doing” and one should always be doing something. As part of his doings, Jim lived in Ohio five distinct times -- having moved back four times, he also lived in Texas twice, with Florida and Indiana each having their own individual layovers.

To say Jim’s favorite tool was a hammer would be to imply there were any other. No matter the tool’s original intent, it would eventually be utilized as a hammer as evidenced by the nail-sized divots in the bolsters of his 30 year old, Uncle Henry “Buck” knife. In the event a hammer would not do the trick, then a drill would suffice. Jim never met a floor he couldn’t drill through given a large enough drill bit.

When Jim wasn’t repurposing tools, he was a quick adopter of just about any technology, so long as it was unix-based. His love of Linux began at Purdue University and eventually landed him his dream job as a Principal Solutions Architect with Red Hat Inc.. Working for Red Hat Inc. afforded him the opportunity to travel nearly 600,000 miles during his tenure, where he and his teammate made the President’s Club three years in a row. The airline miles earned working for Red Hat Inc. allowed him to achieve his one true bucket list item; to visit all 50 states. He completed that goal in December of 2019 by checking Montana off his list in a very round-about way.

No matter how far he traveled, Jim’s first love was always farming and nature. Jim especially enjoyed driving through the “alligator-infested” everglades known as Alligator Alley while the citrus trees were in bloom. He would describe it as the citrus being so thick in the air that he could roll down the window and taste it. He captured his passion for nature with photography, and most of the last videos he watched were farming videos on YouTube. Some of his fondest memories were of working on the farm with his father and brothers -- though removing the cemented fence posts by the family homestead, Avalon, was not one of his favorites.

When he wasn’t playing with computers, watching farming videos, traveling, or taking photos, he could be found in his homemade powerlifting gym. He currently holds seven USAPL records across four weight classes, and set a total of 45 distinct records during his powerlifting career. 41 of his 45 USAPL records were set during his five year battle with prostate cancer.

He is preceded in death by his father, William Wendell Wildman, Jr., his mother, Margaret A (Richards) Wildman, and a brother Robert. He is survived by his wife, Mary Christine Wildman, five children, Adam D., Jade R., Stephen A., Faith E. Wildman Gibson (Steven)., Jakson Q. Wildman (Emmett); Seven grandchildren, Brayden, Aubrey, and Wyatt Wildman (from Stephen) and Daniel, Oliver, Theodore, and Christopher Gibson (from Faith); Two brothers, Richard Wildman (Sharon) and Charles Wildman (Carol), various nieces and nephews and his dear cat, Gideon.

A virtual celebration of life will be held on January 10, 2021 at 4pm ET with details to be published on this memorial page. Please join the family in sharing thoughts, memories, and stories during this time.

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Guests are encouraged to consider making a contribution to Naomi's Heart Mission in honor of Jim. If you are on a computer, you can donate via the "Donate" button on the right hand side of this memorial page. If you are on a mobile device, you can donate via the "Giving" button on the bottom of your screen. 

Naomi's Heart Mission Website: www.naomisheartmission.org/