Published on October 7, 2025 2:59 pm
Last Updated on October 8, 2025 10:19 am
James Lange, 82, of Effingham, Illinois passed away Monday, October 6, 2025 at Digby Place Assisted Living in West Lafayette, Indiana.
Funeral services will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, October 14, 2025 at First Baptist Church in Effingham, IL. Burial will be in Oak Ridge Cemetery in Effingham. Visitation will be held from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, October 14, 2025 prior to the service at the church. Services are in care of Johnson Funeral Home in Effingham. Memorial donations may be made to First Baptist Church. Online condolences may be shared at www.johnsonandsonsfh.com.
Jim was born September 30, 1943 in Effingham, IL, the son of Henry and Delphia Lange. He graduated from Effingham High School in 1961. He married Linda Dugan on April 7, 1963. Jim and Linda have two daughters, Shelly and Sherry. Jim was always in love with fast cars and motorcycles. He worked at a gas station for Merle Higgins after he graduated high school. Eventually, as the years passed, Jim started his own business, Lange Electric and served the Effingham and surrounding areas for many years repairing motors and keeping farmers and businesses going. He caught the racing bug early and ended up buying and fixing up a 1963 Avanti with the intention of racing at the Bonneville Salt Flats. He did head to Bonneville for many years with a crew of his family and friends who watched him set a new land speed record in his class with his Avanti. Not only did he enjoy racing, he also enjoyed helping wherever he could being a mentor to many young men who passed through his shop and into his life. He was a Christian and he and his wife joined First Baptist Church where he served on several committees and where he found solace after his wife died in 2023. Jim was a likeable person who was multi-talented, not only with cars and racing, but also with building furniture. He kept a tree that had been cut down in his parents yard, drying it out before finally making a dining room table and chairs along with a bedroom outfit for his house. He also made two grandfather clocks, one for his house and one for his dad. He was asked to hand-build many furniture items for friends and neighbors. Jim also loved his dogs, always a black Scottish terrier and a white West Highland terrier.
Jim is survived by his daughters, Shelly (Diana Reif) Lange and Sherry (Jeff) Banner; grandchildren, Tyler, Blake (Montana) and Nichole Banner and Kylie and Kendall Reif; great-granddaughter, Miley Banner; sister, Millie Lange; sisters-in-law, Carolyn Barker and Michelle Lange; brother-in-law, Dennis Henry; and many nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Linda; parents, Henry and Delphia Lange; mother- and father-in-law, Donald and Lillian Dugan; brother, Tom Lange; sister-in-law, Jean Henry; brother-in-law, Charles Barker; and nephews, Chris Barker, Steve Temple and Gary Lange.