James Benjamin McCormick

1968 - 2024

James Benjamin McCormick was born March 13, 1968 in Pittsburgh, Pa., the son of Aleta McCormick and J. Ben Fuhrman. He was close in age to his mother's eight siblings who considered him like another brother. He lived in Pittsburgh until attending Milton Hershey School in Hershey, Pa., where he completed high school. He traveled and briefly attended college before joining the Navy, serving four years as a medic corpsman. After his honorable discharge, he worked the following years as what he jokingly referred to as "an Uber on water," moving between Morgan City, La., and Texas for a number of years with different private companies, as well as assignments all over the world since the late 1990s. In 2006, he established a home in Spring, Texas and continued to work more locally in the Gulf of Mexico, delivering provisions and what ever needed to be moved to offshore oil platforms. He was serving as the Captain (civilian term Master) when he passed unexpectedly in Houston, Texas on July 20, 2024. He met Grace and brought her as his fiancée to the United States in about 2008. They married and raised two daughters, Faith and Hope, whom he considered to be the greatest joys of his life. They divorced in the past year, but he always held his daughters in the highest regard and he cherished every memory and celebration of and with them. He was preceded in death by his father, Ben; all grandparents; maternal uncles, Timothy and Daniel McCormick; and aunt, Teresa Dansereau; and cousin, Rhonda. He is survived by his mother, Aleta McCormick of Caliente, Calif.; his cousin siblings, Michael of Mont., Tamara of Tenn., Marylyn of Mont., Christopher of Va., and Patrick of Fla.; as well as numerous first cousins. He was a smart, hardworking, and loyal soul, and dedicated himself to being the best father he could be to his girls. He will be sorely missed. No funeral is planned at this time, but family will hold a memorial service for him next summer.