James Harold Westphal, age 86, passed away unexpectedly from a tragic accident while working on Friday, October 25, 2024.  As an entrepreneur and proud independent business owner of more than 50 years, he loved his work and was known across Houston and beyond as the "oven man."  He was still in the prime of his life - the epitome of health, a proud grandpa, and sole caregiver to his beautiful wife Betty Jo Westphal who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2014.

Jim was born on July 9, 1938, in Pontiac, Michigan.  He was an Explorer Boy Scout and attended Rochester High School and Albion College in Michigan before joining the US Army Reserves, stationed in Fort Riley, Kansas.  He made his way to Texas in 1963, and later graduated from the University of Houston with a Bachelor's Degree in Economics.

He was a man of many trades and exceptional talents.  Jim began as an accountant to support himself through college and later became a certified pilot and flight instructor.  After thankfully surviving a plane crash in 1970 due to engine failure while training a student, he started his first of multiple successful businesses.  Jim was renowned as an interior decorator with expertise in custom drapery and wall coverings and later an independent contractor in the restaurant and commercial bakery service industry for over 40 years.

Jim and Betty Jo were avid campers and loved spending quality time with family and friends in nature.  He enjoyed sailing, world travel, photography, and had a great appreciation for architecture, music, and the arts.  He will be remembered as a man of great integrity in life and business, an ingenious craftsman, and a hero to many, always willing to lend a helping hand to anyone in need.

He was simply one in a million.  He could build anything, make anything, and solve any problem. Jim lived life to the fullest and was intent on leaving the world a better place than he found it.  He impacted so many people's lives in a meaningful way, always using his gifts and talents to help make a difference.

Jim is preceded in death by his parents, Raymond James Westphal and Gladys Olga Nielsen, and survived by his beloved wife of 56 years, Betty Jo, his daughters and sons-in-law, Kimberly and Bradford Scott and Kristi and Dave Teykl, his grandchildren, Audrey Josephine Scott, Eva Jameson Teykl, Breckenridge James Scott, and Anna Patricia Scott, his sisters, Donna Fitzpatrick and Janet Ducharme, his nieces, Angela Fitzpatrick and Lindsay Vogt, and nephews, Erik Fitzpatrick and Ben Clevenger.

The service to celebrate Jim's life will be held Saturday, November 16, 2024, 11:00am, at Asbury United Methodist Church, 5354 Space Center Blvd., Pasadena, Texas 77505. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in his honor to the Westphal Family Endowment that he established at Asbury United Methodist Church.