James E. Wiltse

NEWCASTLE, Wyo. - James Emory Wiltse, 76, Newcastle, was overtaken by cancer and died on April 25, 2011.

Jim was born in 1934 at Newcastle to Kirk and Hazel Wiltse, fourteen months behind his older brother, Dudley, and three years ahead of his sister, Jeanette. He remained in Wyoming throughout his youth, with the exception of the war years, which he spent in San Francisco while father Kirk served in the U.S. Navy. After graduating from Newcastle High School and working with Kirk drilling wells, Jim followed his father's footsteps and joined the Navy in 1955. Upon his discharge, Jim worked in the oil fields until settling into a career in sales. He moved to Chicago for a short time as a sales manager, and then moved to Denver, where he enjoyed a successful career selling cars for two decades. He returned to the family home in Newcastle in 1985 when his mother was ill, where he worked first as a sales rep for the radio station, and then for the County Assessor's Office before retiring in 2000.

Throughout his life, Jim had great passion for classic cars, jazz music and his favorite hard-luck sports franchises, the Denver Broncos and the Chicago Cubs. He appreciated the freedoms of the United States and followed politics closely. Above all, he loved his family and friends, and at the end of his life, his Father in Heaven.

Jim, you are missed here on earth.

Memorial services were held April 29 with burial at Black Hills National Cemetery near Sturgis, S.D.

Memorial donations may be made to Weston County Manor, 1124 Washington Blvd., Newcastle, WY 82701.