On Thursday, January 20, 2022, James D Roper, loving husband, father of four children, passed away at the age of 74.

Born in Memphis, TN  on June 15th, 1947, he was polite enough to wait until after the Sunday evening service to come into the world.  He was the only child of Franklin Brentwood and Dorothy M. Dixon Roper. Being the only child, to say that he was doted on would be a supreme understatement.  By his own admission, he didn't have to walk until he was almost two because someone was always there to carry him.

He was a lover of learning - especially through reading and languages.  His favorite subject in high school was debate (something he passed on to 3/4 of his children, debating that is….the fourth one just thinks she is always right anyway). He graduated from White Station High School in 1965 then went on to attend and graduate from Southwestern, now Rhodes College in 1969 with a degree in something we are unsure of.  (Maybe unpacking them from storage will lighten a box or two.)  He was awarded Phi Beta Kappa and was extremely proud to be part of  the oldest academic honor society in the US. From there, he attended Memphis Theological Seminary gaining a Masters in Divinity. Achieving his goal of the title Reverend Doctor James D Roper, he graduated with his Doctorate from Anderson Theological Seminary.

He was a lifelong teacher, a United Methodist Minister for 27 years, and held various other jobs along the way.

He LOVED people!  He never met a stranger, whether it was in the pews of his church or a bench at Walmart; a trait he passed on to his kids.  He was a storyteller . . . and MAN! Did he tell them!?! Stories of history and people, like Elvis before the fence around Graceland went up.  Or even important people like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr with whom he marched during the garbage strike in Memphis.

But to him, nothing was more important than telling everyone about Jesus.  Those were his best stories. Those were the stories he wanted people to hear above ALL ELSE.

And he loved HIS people: his wife Brenda and his four children Joshua, Sarah, Andrew, and Katie. And he was blessed to see his six grandchildren, Jackson(14), Maddie Kate(13), Caroline(11), Alex(9),  Eli(5) and Isaac(4).  He passed his love of reading on to most of them, whether it is the back of the cereal box or a 500 page novel. He made sure our house was filled with music of all genres and eras, puns galore, and jokes. Horrible dad jokes - such as  *a man Goes to the doctor and says "Doc, one night I dream I'm a wigwam, one night I dream I'm a Teepee. I don't know what's wrong with me. " The Doc says "That's easy, you're "two tents."

We loved him and we knew he loved us.

Sorry, Dad for all the grammatical errors.  You were the grammar police and you are off duty now.

With sincerest love, "tongs" for the memories!

Memorial Services will be held on February 19, 2022, at 10am at Dyersburg Cumberland Presbyterian Church, 2280 Parr Avenue, Dyersburg, TN. Dyersburg Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements.