James Allen "Jim" Hellams

James Allen Hellams was born on February 27th, 1947 in Elgin, Illinois. Jim peacefully made his transition on June 26th, 2022, in Oklahoma City. Jim was a lifelong member of Christ the King Catholic Church and attended school there when Masses were still being held in the school's multipurpose room. He graduated from Bishop McGuinness High School in 1965, continued his education at Central State University and received his PhD from The University of Oklahoma.Jim was always the punster. And he was always ready to bless you with one of his witticisms. Jim worked closely with Father Stansberry at Christ the King for many, many years. Father Rick so loved Jim's puns that he limited Jim to one pun a day and often encouraged him to give them up for lent. Jim persisted. He was the Aficionado of Puns and wanted to make sure that was in his obituary.Jim had a servant's heart and his eagerness to help others touched everyone he knew. He took care of our mom, Catherine Elizabeth Hellams, from the very beginning of her fight with Alzheimer's until her passing. He took care of our dad when he had his first stroke and continued to care for him until dad made his transition. Jim's longest run of service was to the people of Christ the King. He was the only sacristan at Christ the King for more than 30 years. As sacristan, Jim's job was to carefully arrange the liturgical books, the vestments, and other things necessary in the celebration of Mass. He made sure everything ran smoothly and put everything back in its rightful place after Mass. He did this for all of the weekend masses and toward the end he also did the same for weddings and funerals. But his service did not end there. He also stuffed the bulletins, did the inventory in the sacristy and anything else anyone asked him to do.In addition to his liturgical duties at CTK, as he called it; he was the Oklahoma Blood Institute's most faithful donor. As a platelet donor Jim was able to donate every two weeks up to 24 times a year. He maxed out every year and measured his donations not in gallons but in barrels But the person who benefited most from Jim's loving heart was his brother Bill. That would be me. I am who I am today because of the sacrifices Jim made to care for mom and dad. He was the best brother anyone could ever have. Thank you, Brother Jim.Jim is survived by his brother, Bill Hellams and Bill's Partner Barbara Williams. His niece Lauren Sargeant, her husband Clayton Sargeant and their two beautiful children Sophie and Sam. And by his very dear friend Todd Sours.In lieu of flowers, contributions in Jim's name may be made to Oklahoma Blood Institute Foundation.A memorial service will be held at Christ the King Catholic Church on Thursday, June 30th, at 10:00 AM.Just one more thing. Jim loved trains all of his life. As a matter of fact, the "Santa Fe Main" actually ran through his back yard, and that is exactly why he chose to live there. So, the next time you are stopped at a railroad crossing think of Brother Jim.