Mr. James E. Washington Sr.

Mr. James Edward Washington Sr. passed away quietly at home after battling a hard strong fight with cancer on August 28th, 2016. He was born on May 23rd, 1940 to the late Arthur and Frankie Riley Washington in Springfield, Ill. James was the youngest of eleven children was affectionately known as “ the baby, of the family”. He loved hanging with his older sisters and brothers and was spoiled by each of them. James and his brothers had a singing group and were known to sing around town at different events. At a young age, James accepted Christ as his personal Savior at St. John AME Church, in Springfield, Ill. After graduating from Lanphier High School in Springfield, Ill, James moved to Kalamazoo with his brother, Arthur Washington Sr. to attend Western Michigan University. James worked and marched alongside his brother with the Washington Band also known as the Kalamazoo Bombardiers. James met the love of his life, Arlene Elliott and they united in marriage on August 20th, 1960. James joined Galilee Baptist Church, under the leadership of Rev. Mabry Gardner. He was a faithful member who served in many capacities, which included: being a member of the GBC Choir and teaching Sunday school alongside his wife. Later in life, James became a trustee of the church and worked tirelessly with the building committee to construct the new church building. After coming to Kalamazoo, he worked several different jobs before becoming a police officer for the Kalamazoo Public Safety during the 1960’s. In the 1970’s, he went into the real estate business as a realtor for Pierson Realtors. James also worked for First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Kalamazoo, where he worked tirelessly until he became the Vice President of the Mortgage Department. After retiring from First Federal Savings and Loan in the early 1980’s, James decided to open up his own business, the famous What Not Box on Douglas Avenue. After running the What Not Box for 10 years plus, he decided to sell his business in order to start another adventure where he went back into real estate and became the owner of Gold Key Realtors. After James retired he decided he was not ready to sit down, and he went to work at Lincoln Elementary as a Lunch Supervisor, where he became the “cool old dude” of the playground. James and Arlene decided that Kalamazoo needed a way to get information out to the community, so they started Community Voices. As Arlene worked putting the newspaper together , James made sure of delivery and outreach by marketing to get the word out to the community. James also loved playing cards with his card buddies. He also loved singing to his grandchildren as he cooked on the grill. James enjoyed hanging with his nieces and nephews during family reunions. Singing along with his brother, William “One More Time”, one more time, He allowed us to come together--one more time”. He was preceded in death by his parents, Arthur and Frankie Washington; 3 brothers, Arthur Washington Jr., Richard and Bobby Washington; and 2 sisters, Ester Davenport and Mildred Osbey. He leaves to cherish his memories, his loving wife of 56 years, Arlene D. Washington; two daughters, April (Vance) Goodwin, and Suzen Washington; one son, James (Amy) Washington Jr. all of Kalamazoo; two brothers, William (Oshia) Washington of Springfield, Ill and Michael Washington of Houston, TX; three sisters, Clarissa Hale, Diane Hammuck and Lillian Woodson of Springfield, IL; one brother-in-law, Charles (Judy) Elliott of Kalamazoo, MI; seven grandchildren, Me’Shale (Byran) Hinton of Cheaspeake, VA., Ra’Shel (James) Abbott, Ryan (Elizabeth) Washington, Vance Goodwin II, Dawnielle Goodwin, Brooklyn Washington and Taylor Washington all of Kalamazoo, M; 5 great-grandchildren, and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

Mr. James E. Washington Sr.

May 23, 1940 - August 28, 2016