James Daniel Killey, 75, of Roseville, passed away Thursday, November 2, 2023 at the Mayo Clinic Methodist Hospital in Rochester, MN after a year-long battle with lymphoma.
He was born on January 14, 1948, in Monmouth, the son of Bruce and Adeline Killey. He married Janet Lynn (Bloom) Killey on November 25, 2005 and she survives.
He will be greatly missed by his three children: Shannon (Jeff) Hogg of Lacombe, LA, Benjamin Killey (Truong Hoang) of Seattle, WA and Seth (Kassy) Killey of Peoria, Il, two step-children, Bridget (Erik) Wessel of Grafton, WI and Kevin (Heather) Bloom of Teague, TX, one brother Richard (Mary) Killey, sister-in-law Janet Stevenson, eight grandchildren: Ellie Hogg, Silas Hogg, Liam Killey, Aspen Bloom, Nathaniel Bloom, Kayla Bloom, Kyle Bloom and Kodie Bloom, two great-granddaughters, Evelynn and Eleanor, and several cousins, nephews and nieces. He is preceded in death by his parents and one brother, David Killey.
He graduated from Roseville High School in 1966 and the University of Illinois in 1970 after studying agriculture. He farmed in the Roseville area with his father, brothers and nephews until his retirement. He had a life-long love of trains, St. Bernard dogs, cycling and running. He ran his last 5K race in Roseville in August, 2022. He was a long-time member of Walnut Grove United Methodist Church where he enjoyed singing in the choir and serving in many different capacities. He lived out the Christian faith in the way that he put his hope and trust in Christ, valued God’s Word and treated others with kindness and gentleness.
Jim’s legacy will be that he loved others well and lived a life of integrity. He excelled at the things that mattered the most in life. He was a listener and an encourager. He was generous in extending grace and compassion to others and modeled a life of forgiveness. He believed the best about people and withheld judgment of others, knowing that he had never walked in their shoes. He showed resilience and strength in hardships. He believed in doing the “right thing” even when it was inconvenient or unpopular. His most favorite thing was spending time with the love of his life, Janet, and being with his children. He will be greatly missed and never forgotten.
Family will receive friends from 4-7 p.m. Friday, November 10, at the Moore Memorial Home, Roseville. Funeral service will be at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, November 11, 2023 at Walnut Grove United Methodist Church (22801 E. 1800th St., Prairie City), immediately followed by a lunch at the Roseville Methodist Church fellowship hall. The family requests that memorials be made to “Walnut Grove United Methodist Church”, “Center for Prevention of Abuse” or “Cancer Research at Mayo Clinic”.
