James Bernard "Jim" Spillers

James Bernard Spillers (Jim) of Monroe, Louisiana died in his home surrounded by his beloved wife, Diane, and their 10 children on August 20, 2017. He was 65 years old.

Jim is survived by his wife Diane, mother Betty Miller Thomson, children: Shannon Nix and husband Kyle, James Spillers and wife Stephanie, Clayton Spillers, Ashlea Spillers Sandoval, Parker Spillers, Spencer Spillers, Seth Spillers, Forrest Spillers and wife Emily, Colby Spillers, Hudson Spillers, and his 12 grandchildren: Alyssa, Logan, Philip, Alexandra, Madison, Ella, Joel, Peter, Josiah, Anna Camille, Ava Madeline, and a grandson to be born in December. He is also survived by his sisters Patricia Spillers, Annette Spillers Mashburn and Jennifer Spillers. He is preceded in death by his father James Parker Spillers, his sister Elizabeth Spillers, and step-father Russell Thomson.

Jim Spillers was a loving husband to his wife, a loving father to his children, and a loving son to his mother. Jim and Diane were married 35 years. He loved us all; and he showed it by staying with us, by working hard, and by letting us see his great sense of humor that most of the world didn’t see.

He involved himself in his children’s lives – giving them opportunities to participate in dance, sports, or other hobbies. He made time for us, even when he didn’t have time to give. He not only gave time to his children, he gave time and love to countless boys he coached in the Monroe City Baseball leagues.

His work was in the oil fields – but his lasting contributions are seen in those he loved. He involved himself in politics in an effort to see good men lead; he involved himself in pro-life movements such as Mercy Ministries and Sacred Right to Life. And he sought to be a Godly example to everyone. One friend commented, “There wasn’t much bend in Jimmy Spillers” – that was his way of saying that of the men he knew, Dad just wouldn’t comprise like others.

The children have shared memories of Dad, and he wanted them in his obituary. They are condensed here as a memorial to him.

Dad was always teaching – he brought the Bible to life in Sunday School, he spent time teaching us to hunt and fish and play sports; to work and study. We all loved those moments when he couldn’t finish a story because he was laughing so hard at the punch line that he knew was coming, but we didn’t. The girls were not forgotten amongst his 8 sons – Dad took time and effort to let each of us enjoy life. When Mom was sick for many years, Dad would take the girls to his office to let them be his secretaries, or shopping at the mall (and he likened the mall to hell itself – but not when it made his girls smile). Dad would take us out to oil fields with him quite often. We often listened to “oldies” on the radio, and we loved when he sang along to songs like “A Boy Named Sue”, or “Bad, Bad, Leroy Brown”.

He was patient with us. One of us (who will remained unnamed) was with him in the woods and a large spider crawled onto Dad’s chest, when Dad yelled “Kill it” that particular son took his large flashlight and beat it to death while it was still on Dad’s chest. The fact that that son is with us today, makes my point about his being patient. Dad would take us on what might seem to be the most insignificant dates (like picking up his morning coffee and paper), but they meant the world to us. He also loved to tell stories of his home town of Covington. On one trip with Hudson, he spent a day driving around telling stories, meeting old friends, and old coaches, sharing his childhood. Saturdays were fishing days in the summer. Cane poles and worms and cut-off blue jeans and bare feet. I think we played with the rocks on the shore more than we fished, but we did it with him.
Dad was there for each of us with some sort of advice when we were about to graduate and leave home – amidst the questions of “What do you want to do” and “How do you want to do it”, were admonitions to always put God first and honor Him in all we did.

He will be remembered as loving husband, devoted father, steadfast man, humble, giving, servant and friend.

Visitation is scheduled for 4pm to 7pm at Mulhearn Funeral Home at 300 McMillan Road, West Monroe, LA, 71291 on Wednesday, August 23rd, 2017. The funeral will be held at Christ Church at 208 Lincoln Street, West Monroe, LA 71291 on Thursday, August 24th at 2:00pm with Rev. Tom Lowe officiating. Interment will follow in Mulhearn Memorial Park Cemetery, Monroe, LA under the direction of Mulhearn Funeral Home, West Monroe. All are welcome to attend and celebrate Jim’s life.