James Charles Kilgore, 70, of Creston, formerly of Clearfield, died Feb. 18, 2025, at Creston Specialty Care in Creston. His body was cremated and his ashes were interred at Union Cemetery in rural Ringgold County.
Known at various times in his life and to different people as Charles, Charley, James and Jim, he was born Sept. 20, 1954, in Clearfield, the third son and fourth child of George Samuel And Clara Viola (Clay) Kilgore. Growing up, he had a paper route, set pins at the bowling alley in Clearfield and stocked shelves at the local grocery store.
He attended school in Clearfield, graduating in 1972, and enlisted in the U.S. Navy after graduation. Trained as a 1200 psi steam boiler technician by the Navy, he served on ships except for short shore duty stints in Rota, Spain, and San Diego, California, until he was honorably discharged in 1985.
He was married three times with all three marriages ending in divorce with the stepchildren not staying in touch and no children born of the marriages.
Married life took him from California to Elkhart, Indiana, where he worked for a furniture manufacturing company and later as a forklift operator at an aerosol can filling company. Relocating to Creston, he eventually hired on at Bunn-O-Matic where he worked for many years before taking early retirement for health reasons.
James/Charles collected books and dragon figurines and was an accomplished woodworker and a Master Modeler. He embraced his Scottish heritage, wearing his “clan tartan” kilt to the numerous renaissance festivals he attended.
He is survived by his siblings: David (Beverly) of Christchurch, New Zealand, Kevin of Diagonal, Gordon (Leslie) of St. Joseph, Missouri, and Kerry Saville of Clearfield; three nieces and five nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents; sisters, Anne and Margaret Kilgore, and brother-in-law Richard Saville.