James William Oliver, 83, of Lompoc peacefully passed away at home on July 7th, 2013 after a courageous 10 year battle of cancer and heart disease. He was born at home, September 9, 1929, in Indianapolis, Indiana. He graduated from Technical High School in 1947 where he ran Cross Country. He worked as an optician's assistant at Fox Optical in Indianapolis prior to entering military service in 1948. In the United States Air Force, he was stationed overseas in England, and saw service stateside in Washington State, New Mexico, Colorado, Florida, and California. During his military career, he received several awards and commendation letters. Upon retiring from the military in 1968, he worked at Vandenberg Air Force Base at Federal Electric Corporation (ITT). In 1972, he received his Associate of Arts Degree from Allan Hancock College. He retired as a technical writer in 1986.


During his lifetime, you could find him playing golf at the Village Country Club or bowling for the Royal Coach or Elk's Bowling Teams. He was a Life Member of the Lompoc Elks Lodge, an expert crossword puzzle solver, completed many do-it-yourself home improvement projects, enjoyed watching sporting events on TV, and spending time with his family.


He is survived by his loving wife of 37 years, Marilyn Oliver, and his siblings Rosemary Sheeks and Bobby Oliver of Indianapolis, Indiana. He is also survived by his four children: his son and wife, Lawrence (Chris) Oliver, Nipomo, Ca., daughter Julia (Jim) Sigler, of Visalia, Ca., daughter Alison (Mike) Daniel of Bakersfield, Ca., and step-daughter Michelle (David) Stone of Kingsburg, Ca. His dearly loved grandchildren: Leslie and Lauren Oliver, Jennifer and J.J. Sigler, Courtney Morrow, Cristin Erbacher, and Corey Morrow, and Megan and Jenay Stone, and his adoring great-granddaughter, Rilynn Erbacher, and well as many nieces and nephews.


He was preceded in death by his parents, Jesse James and Marguerite Oliver, sisters Helen Mae and Virginia, and brother, Johnny.


In lieu of flowers, the family requests charitable donations be made to Visiting Nurse and Hospice Care, 436 First Street #201, Solvang, CA, 93463, (www.vnhcsb.org) or Lompoc Hospital Foundation, P.O. Box 883, Lompoc, 93438-0883.


The family would like to express their sincere gratitude to the members of the Visiting Nurse and Hospice Care, Dr. Mukul Gupta and Dr. Sanjay Kumar. Their dedication and effort to provide quality care were a heartwarming blessing to the entire family.


A celebration of life honoring Jim will be held Saturday, September 7, 2013, at 11:00 am at Starbuck-Lind Mortuary Chapel, 123 North A Street, Lompoc, CA.