James Jodon

JODON, JAMES J., 97, passed away on June 10, 2015 in Centennial, Colorado. James was born in South Bend, Indiana on November 1, 1917. As a young man he played piano in Northern Indiana beer joints, nightclubs, and ballrooms to help support his family. He studied at Notre Dame University for three years before being inducted into the U.S. Army during World War II. After marrying the love of his life, Marjorie Dell Gibson, of Wichita Falls, Texas, James was ordered overseas and served in the North Africa and Italy campaigns. He continued his military service after the war, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserve. James resumed his education at Notre Dame and graduated in 1946. He went into public accounting and in 1957 moved the family to Irving, Texas, where he joined the U.S. General Accounting Office as a supervisory auditor. He rose to become the regional deputy director and retired from government service in 1980. He is preceded in death by his wife of 63 years, Marjorie, and his son John Michael Jodon. He is survived by his sister, Joyce Haines; his son William Jodon; his son Robert Jodon and wife Jeanne Bell; his daughter Kathryn Giesler and husband Ralph; and his daughter-in-law, Anita Gail Jodon. He is also survived by his grandchildren Michelle Jodon, Ivy Barnes, Mary Jane Phillips, Jessica Birk, Paul and Phillip Giesler, and James Jay Jodon. He is also survived by his great-grandchildren Sawyer Moe; Victoria, Alex, and Isabella Barnes; Miles and Mason Phillips; and Desmond Birk. A memorial service will be held on June 17, 2015 at Serenity House Assisted Living Center, 6770 S. Kit Carson Way, in Centennial which is where James lived the last year of his life. The final resting place for James and Marjorie Jodon is Fort Logan National Cemetery in Denver. A memorial service is tentatively planned for mid-September.