He was born December 29, 1929, in Wethersfield, New York, one of 13 children born to Basil Raymond Sr. & Eleanor Winifred (Gross) Wolcott. He farmed with his family milking cows, potatoes, and corn until joining the United States Air Force and serving 4 years during the Korean War. While in the service, he dedicated his life to Christ at a Billy Graham Service. He continued reading the Bible and sharing the news about God until his passing. After serving his country, James received a bachelor’s degree from Rockmont College in Longmont, Colorado. While working on his bachelor’s degree, he met Carol Schreiber, who would become his wife on June 3, 1956. They married at the Hamlet Union Church in Hamlet, Nebraska.
When they finished college, they moved to Carol’s family dairy farm in Palisade, Nebraska. On the farm with Carol, they were able to raise their 3 children. In 1998, he retired from farming and moved to Imperial Nebraska and began working at Crop Production Services. Then in 2015, he moved to Greeley, Colorado to be with his daughter. James was always willing to lend a hand to sort cattle, help a friend fix irrigation sprinklers, or to hoe weeds and enjoyed taking care of the chickens. He loved spending time with his grandchildren and always had a wink and a kiss for them.
James was a member of the Hamlet Union Church, where he served on the board and taught Sunday School classes. He also attended Imperial Bible Church and the Windsor Cornerstone Baptist Church. He was a 4-H leader, an ABS representative, and traveled on several mission trips to construct homes.
Survivors include two sons, Kim Wolcott (Lisa) of Mercedes, Texas, and Brent Wolcott of Holdrege, Nebraska, a daughter, Eleanor (Eli) Podtburg and husband, Ken of Greeley, Colorado, 2 brothers, Doug, and Keith, 2 sisters, Mary Rinehart, and Nancy Nancy Van Duzer, and 8 grandchildren: David Wolcott, Joy Wolcott, Kayla Perks, Tyler Wolcott, Joel Wolcott, Cody Wolcott, Megan Podtburg, and Mindi Podtburg, and 7 great grandchildren. Also, there are many nieces and nephews.
He was preceded by his wife Carol, a grandson, Jason, his brothers, Basil Jr., John, Vincent, Dennis, Bob, Daryl, and Paul and sisters, Ellen, and Winifred.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Samaritan’s Purse at https://www.samaritanspurse.org or by mail to Samaritan’s Purse P.O. 3000, Boone, NC 28607
A memorial service has been planned at Hamlet Union Church on March 23, 2024, at 11:00 CST
An online guestbook and obituary are available at www.moserfuneralservice.com.
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