James W. Wamhoff (Jim), 76, passed away at home on July 25, 2025 after a very short illness. He is survived by his best friend, Patricia Sanders Wamhoff, his wife of 56 years, his beloved sons James, Jr. (Melanie) and Stephen (Atiba), 5 grandchildren, 3 great-grandchildren, and a much-loved large family of in-laws, nieces and nephews. The second youngest of eight children born to Madalin (Miller) and Harry Wamhoff, Jim was raised in a loving home that prepared him to be the man he became. His surviving sisters are Mary Pracht, Katy Van Stratton and Sue Grysiewicz (Rich). His siblings, Nancy Adkisson, Barbara Roeder, Larry Wamhoff and Harry Wamhoff predeceased Jim.
After graduating from McBride High School, Jim followed in his father’s and his brother’s footsteps and joined the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. After joining, he was required to take some college courses. From that point on, learning became his life-long passion. He decided to get a different full-time job that would enable him to also attend college full time, all while raising a family, lovingly rehabbing the family home and attending required Army Reserves training. With all of this, his family always came first. He was always positive, happy and grateful, but a quiet man. No one really knew how much he did. His family, however, knew there was nothing he could not fix with either his tools or advice, and the void he leaves is huge. He ended up with several degrees, even completing all the course work for a Ph.D. He landed a job with Welder and Industrial, Cee-Kay Supply and then Airgas. He was always grateful for the opportunities he was given at each of those jobs, and he was proud of his contributions.
Jim retired from Airgas in 2014 and was lucky enough to spend every day on some adventure with Pat, while enjoying their wonderful trips, visiting family, and the dinners, parties and golf with friends. He was a voracious reader, loved poetry, and was a long-time supporter of the Rep, the Symphony and Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. Don’t let these interests fool you. He also loved hard rock. He had many interests which made him interesting to be around.
Visitation for Jim will be on Saturday, August 9, 2025, between 3:00 and 6:00 at Kutis Funeral Home at 5255 Lemay Ferry Road. As a parting shot to our current political situation, it would really make Jim smile at any contributions to any of the newly defunded institutions/organizations, whether cultural, educational, scientific or charitable.
Jim always told me that his success was due mostly to luck or primorial indifference. I disagreed with him and told him that he was prepared for success and the most important fact was that he knew how to treat others. He was kind and gentle and a joy to be around. I never heard Jim cuss but he would utter a phrase on the golf course which I will repeat regarding his passing. “Oh Fudge!”
He is a good man. I enjoyed working for him.
Jim was such an inspiration as a great man and a life well lived. He was a wise and kind man, cherished by all who knew him. We will miss him dearly.
Jim was always kind and encouraging. It was a pleasure to work for him.
My thoughts are with your family.
His understanding, he let you do the job that brought you success, it was not the way he would do it, but he would not stand in your way, because he knew we both had the same goal, to be the best we could in our own way.
Jim was always a tremendously sharp and witty individual. Discussions with him were more than just a pleasant pastime, they were opportunities to learn, challenges to one’s opinions, and a call to defend one’s arguments.
A story I would like to share involves an incident review that I will never forget:
We had an ice storm and one of the stores had a property damage incident where a sheet of ice came off the roof and struck an employee’s vehicle. The employee was someone who had been around a long time and was friendly with Jim and the other management, so the review seemed to be mostly a formality. During the conference call, we covered the salient points of the incident and then Jim asked the employee if he had saved the object that caused the damage to the vehicle (i.e. the ice) . The call went dead silent. Jim, with a huge grin on his face, asked again whether the employee could produce the object that caused the damage. When the employee expressed confusion about saving the ice, Jim doubled down and said that we couldn’t help unless we had the object that caused the damage, otherwise there was no proof. As the employee sputtered and he tried to mentally process that, Jim admitted that he was just pulling the employee’s leg and we all started laughing. This was the sort of dry, cerebral humor I regularly experienced from him.
Jim was the kind of friend who was fierce yet warm, and who invested in helping others. I will always look back fondly on the years I worked with him and the many lunch outings together.
Jim always expressed his love for and pride in his family. My deepest sympathy goes out to his wife, Pat, and his sons and their families. I share their sorrow at his passing. God Bless.
I’ve known Jim since grade school at St. Engelbert., where he and my brother, Bob, were best of friends. He was always a sweet boy and grew into a sweet and humble gentleman and father. I will never forget hs great smile, his charm as a young man and his kindness. I’ ve been reflecting on Jim and Bob’s antics when they were at McBride. Chuckles and smiles are all that come to mind. RIP in peace dear, Jim. You will be missed. Love to Pat and the kids.