James "Jim" W. Webber

James W. “Jim” Webber,88, of Herscher, formerly of Kankakee, passed away on Monday, April 17, 2023 in the ER at Ascension St. Mary’s Hospital surrounded by his loving family. Jim was born on July 22, 1934 the fourth of seven children to Elma (Martin) and James B. Webber. He married Regina (Jean) Lochner in 1953. They divorced in 1977. Jim retired from General Foods, where he had worked for 30 years. He had previously driven quite a variety of trucks, beginning with his family’s trucking company, JB Webber Trucking. He drove for several other local trucking companies, and was able to recall who he drove with, the kind of truck they each drove, where they were going (which roads they took) and who got there first. He had a marvelous memory and could tell quite the story with very specific details. He began coaching Little League in Herscher in 1970 when his son, Jim played. He also did some umpiring and volunteered to work on the fields. He later took that love of baseball to the Kankakee Jaycees where he was very involved in their baseball program-coaching, managing, groundskeeping, and running the concession stands. He was honored with a plaque by the Jaycees at the Brian Stone Tournament. He was also involved with the Azzarelli Colts Football Program as a board member and volunteer; as well as the Riverside Colts and Eastside Bulldogs concession manager. He loved reading the sports page where he could read about the sports success of his former players. Jim was an avid reader and his office full of books is proof of that. He loved playing euchre and especially bridge, which he learned at the age of 84. He spent many hours at Bob and Thelma’s playing cards. He looked forward to his Tuesday bridge lunches and anytime someone called him to be a sub. He enjoyed his Wednesday Coffee Club at the Methodist Church where he caught up on Herscher news and tried hard not to spill the coffee that Pastor Kevin filled his cup with. But most of all, he enjoyed watching his grandchildren and great grandchildren’s sporting events. Surviving are his daughters, Debbie Jensen and JoAnn (Mark) Wenzelman of Herscher, Gail (Dale) Miller of Limestone, Nancy (Joe) Muus of Castlerock, Colorado, and Vicki Webber of Bourbonnais; a son, Jim Webber of St. Anne; brothers, Bob (Thelma) Webber and Butch (Carol) Webber of Herscher; brother-in-law, David Lochner of Kankakee; sisters, Kathy Jepsen and Lois Dionne of Herscher; grandchildren, Keidra Jensen, Kyle (Melanie) Jensen of Manteno, Courtney (Dale) Meredith of Herscher, Nikki Parker of Peotone, Jillian Miller of Cobden, Brittany (Logan) Hendrickson of Charleston, SC, Tobia Pierce of Jamestown, OH, Tryna (Tim) King of NC, Rob (Kate) Muus of Castlerock, Jenny Bohlke of Colorado, Sara (Laz) Hughes of Bourbonnais, Caitlin (Jessie Cooper) Wenzelman, Tyler (Katie) Wenzelman of Kankakee, Ashley Webber of Bradley, Matt (Alexandra) Webber of Savannah, GA, Chris Webber, and Brandon Webber of South Carolina; and 29 great grandchildren. He is preceded in death by his parents, his son-in-law, Gary Jensen; his ex-wife, Jean White; sister and brother-in-law, Maxine and Bob Sorensen, brother, Martin Webber, brother and sister-in-law, Ed and Jeanne Webber, brother-in-law, Jim Jepsen and sister-in-law Fannie Webber. Visitation will be held Friday, April 21, 2023 from 4pm until the memorial service at 7pm at Jensen Funeral Home, Kankakee. Cremation rites have been accorded. Memorials may be made to Comer Children’s Hospital, Chicago or family wishes.