James E. Waldrop

James E. Waldrop, age 84, of Columbia City, IN passed away at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday January 21, 2016 at his residence. Born in Decatur, IN he was the son of Wayne D. and Ruth F. (Carrier) Waldrop.

He attended Fort Wayne Schools and graduated from Elmhurst High School with the Class of 1950. James worked for the Fort Wayne Fire Department for 23 years until his retirement in 1983. On April 29, 1983 James married Barbara L. Anderson in Columbia City. He also lived in Michigan and Florida before settling in Columbia City in 2007. James had been a member of South Wayne Baptist Church and Fire Department Union Local 124 in Fort Wayne. Some hobbies James had were farming his land in Churubusco, ice fishing, and fishing Indiana Lakes, which included Lake Erie.

Survivors include his loving wife Barbara Waldrop of Columbia City; daughters Vickie (Kevin) Hughes of Addison, NY and Kathy (Gary) Para of Sedona, AZ; sons Michael (Sue) Waldrop and Mark Waldrop, both of Hammonsport, NY; step-son Kevin Ely of Churubusco; 5 grandchildren; sister Phyllis (Jac) Wilkinson and brother Marvin Waldrop, both of Mineral Bluff, GA; several nieces and nephews. Preceded in death by his parents Wayne and Ruth Waldrop, sister Julia Ray, son James A. Waldrop, and step-son Ryan Ely.

A memorial service for James will be held 11 a.m., Saturday, April 30, 2016 at DeMoney-Grimes, a Life Story Funeral Home, 600 Countryside Drive, Columbia City. Memorial contributions in memory of James may be made to the Fort Wayne Fire Department. Visit www.demoneygrimes.com to sign the online guest book or to send a condolence.