James "Jim" Lester Mullineaux

James (Jim) Lester Mullineaux of Miamisburg, Ohio passed away on January 10, 2019 at the age of 85. He was born November 18, 1933 in Gallipolis, Ohio and was the son of Ida Lois Mullineaux Simmons and James Marine Mullineaux. He was preceded in death by his parents. He is survived by his loving wife, Mary Melton Mullineaux and his children, James M. Mullineaux (Mary Ann) and Julie Mullineaux Watkins (Daryl Monfils), Chris T. Melton (Stephanie), Richard L. Melton (Sarah Hamilton), and Pamela Melton Clements (Christopher). Jim is also survived by his siblings, Lois Jean (Jay) Simms and Barbara (Mike) Neal of Gallipolis, Ohio, and Jeffrey Simmons of Desert Hot Springs, California; his grandchildren, Theresa and Sophia Mullineaux and Julia Mullineaux Dalton, Emily Watkins Brown, Jarrod Watkins, Steve Monfils and Phillip Monfils, and Joey Picklesimer, Sarah Karl McKibbon, Stephanie Melton McNeill, Jamie Melton Hoatson, Maddie Lietzau and Olivia Lietzau, Cannon T. Clements, and Nikola Warren Hamilton; and his great grandchildren, Madisyn Karl and Emory Karl, Elliot Brown, William McNeill and Kara McNeill. Jim loved his growing family very much and cherished the memories of the many happy family times. Within the past few months, he had the pleasure of attending two grandchildren’s weddings and was able to dance at both. He also adored all his nieces and nephews. Jim was a proud graduate of the Gallia Academy High School, Class of 1951, and the University of Cincinnati, 1957, with a B.S. in Aeronautical Engineering. Jim loved all airplanes. He spent the majority of his career at Wright-Patterson AFB OH, serving as an Aeronautical Instrumentation Research Engineer and continued to have increased levels of responsibility until he retired from the Air Force Materials Laboratory in a Materials Engineering position. During his career, he coauthored many technical reports describing the research and testing with which he was involved. He received numerous awards and letters of commendation for his work. Jim retired in 1992 to supervise the building of Mary’s and his retirement home. Jim loved to play tennis, taught by his mother at a young age. He continued to play until tennis elbow won the final match. He then turned to golf which became his passion. His Enon and Springfield golfing buddies were dear to his heart. Funeral Services will be held at Willis Funeral Home in Gallipolis, Ohio on Saturday, January 19, 2019 at 1:00 pm with visitation beginning at 11:30 a.m. Burial will be in Addison, Ohio at Reynolds Cemetery. Visitation for friends of the family in the Dayton area will be held at 2366 Rosina Drive, Miamisburg, Ohio on January 20, 2019, from 2:00 to 4:00pm. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to benefit scholarships in the Aerospace Engineering Program at the University of Cincinnati. Please make checks payable to the University of Cincinnati Foundation in memory of James L. Mullineaux and send to the University of Cincinnati Foundation, PO Box 19970, Cincinnati OH 45219-0970. Alternatively, the family is very grateful for the excellent care provided by Hospice. You may also contribute to Hospice of Dayton, 324 Wilmington Avenue, Dayton OH, 45420 or at hospiceofdayton.org, in memory of James L. Mullineaux. Please visit www.willisfuneralhome.com to send e-mail condolences.