Dale William James, 67, of Reasnor, died Sunday, Jan. 1, 2023, at his home. A celebration of Dale’s life was held from 4-6 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 7, at Wallace Family Funeral Home and Crematory in Newton. In lieu of flowers, memorials in Dale’s name (checks made payable to Machelle James) may be left at the funeral home.
Dale, the son of Delbert and Geraldine “Geri” (Cavitt) James, was born June 27, 1955, in Newton. He grew up in Monroe and attended Monroe Schools. Dale served his country in the U.S. Army from Nov. 27, 1972, until May 16, 1975. After returning from the service, Dale began his 30-year career at the Maytag Company. His Maytag friends all called knew him as Fuzzy. Dale retired in 2006. After retirement, he worked at Mike's Machine Repair in Reasnor.
Dale moved to Reasnor in 1993 and served as their mayor and as a volunteer firefighter. After 23 years together, Dale was united in marriage to Machelle Quick on Aug. 3, 2015, in Deadwood, SD. Dale always lived life to the fullest, which included hunting, riding his Harley, fishing, camping, and bowling. He also loved spending time with his family.
Dale is survived by his wife Machelle James of Reasnor; children Eric James of Newton, Jeannie (Michael) Pilcher of Ankeny, and Matthew James of Newton; his grandchildren Dylan and Lexi James, Keegan and Kaleb Pilcher, and Riley and Addison James; his brother Donnie (Tahnee) James of Spearfish, SD; several nieces and nephews including Chris Graves, Cole (Amanda) Graves, and Kiara Quick, whom Dale and Machelle loved like their own children; and his best friend, Randy Meyer of Newton.
He was preceded in death by his parents and his mother-in-law Carol Quick.
