April 27, 1953 ~ Oct. 10, 2020
“It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.” —Charles Dickens
James Lloyd Dillon, Jr. (Jim) was born on April 27, 1953, in Montrose, Colorado, to James Dillon, Sr. and Sonja J. Atwood. He won his battle with cancer on Oct. 10, 2020, and has gone home to Jesus where it can never touch him again. He passed peacefully at home at the age of 67, surrounded by the love of his wife and children.
A veteran of the United States Army, Jim served in Germany on the Czech border during the Cold War. After leaving the Army, he began his studies in California before heading to the University of Chicago, where he received his Master’s in Business Administration. He worked in numerous financial positions, and started his own financial consulting firm, before becoming a math teacher at Rangely Middle School in Rangely, Colorado. He later became the CFO of Rangely Hospital District, where he was instrumental in earning the voters’ approval for the construction of a new hospital facility that will serve the town he loved for decades to come. He was baptized into, and received his final anointing from, the Catholic church.
He was preceded in death by his father, James Dillon, Sr., his sisters Tamara Berry and Debora Dillon, and his brother Robert Dillon.
He is survived by his wife of 35 years, Mary Dillon of Rangely, his mother Sonja Atwood of Abilene, Texas, his sister and brother-in-law Colleen and Jeff Mullins of Bryan, Texas, his brother Bryan Dillon of Mesa, Arizona, his sons and daughters-in-law James Dillon III and Vivian Chang Dillon of Rangely, Douglas and Jodi Dillon of Rangely, and Michael and Katie Dillon of Rangely, his daughters Rosalind Dillon of Chicago, Illinois, Jessica Dillon of Rangely, and Rachel Dillon of Grand Junction, Colorado. He is also survived by nine grandchildren: Emma Dillon, Kassia Dillon, Alex Black, Allison Dillon, Jackson Stanek, Axel Stanek, Payton Stanek, Connor Dillon, and Molly Dillon.
Services will be held on Oct. 18, 2020, at 2 p.m. at St. Ignatius Catholic Church in Rangely, 109 S. Stanolind Avenue. Interment will take place at 3:30 p.m. at the Rangely Cemetery with a reception to follow at the Parish Hall of St. Ignatius Catholic Church. Online condolences may be shared at www.AshleyValleyFuneralHome.com
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Jim’s honor to Count It All Joy Ministries (www.cocomullins.org) or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (www.stjude.org)
