James Arnold Block

James Arnold (Jim) Block completed his life’s journey on March 10, 2025. Born on July 18, 1933, in the farming community of Olfen, Texas, to Paul and Hattie Matthiesen Block, he was the youngest of six children. Jim carried fond memories of working alongside his father, hauling rocks from plowed fields, laying out terraces for contour farming, and sharing in the labors of cotton hoeing, picking, and grain harvest. At age twelve, he built a Soap Box Derby racer and proudly took second place in the mayor-sponsored race in Ballinger. He attended Olfen School and graduated from Ballinger High School in 1951. During the drought years, he helped design and build a chicken broiler house with his father and brother Wilbert, raising and selling nearly 3,000 chickens.

In February 1953, Jim enlisted in the U.S. Navy. After boot camp in San Diego, he served aboard the destroyer escort USS Edmonds (DE 406) for 33 months during the Korean Conflict. He was among those present for the first and only U.S. hydrogen bomb detonation test, later receiving the Atomic Veterans Commemorative Service Medal and Atomic Veterans Service Certificate in 2025 for his support of the nation’s nuclear deterrence program. He completed three tours of duty in the Far East with Pearl Harbor as his home port. On April 28, 1956, he married his sweetheart, Lillian Evelyn Zak of Rowena, Texas. After his honorable discharge in March 1957 as a Machinist Mate First Class Petty Officer, Jim and Lillian settled first in California and later in Chicago and Houston, where he continued his education while working and raising their family.

Jim and Lillian had four children who attended Our Lady of Mt. Carmel School, becoming active members of the Mt. Carmel Parish in 1962. He owned and operated a commercial and industrial air conditioning and heating business from 1970 until 1993, then worked at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Houston until his retirement in 2006. In 2004, they reacquired the Block Family Farm and returned to Olfen, living in the original farmhouse. Deeply committed to service, Jim was an active member of the Knights of Columbus and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Known for his warm greeting of “Well, Hellooooo” to everyone he met, he made friends easily and lived with gratitude and joy. He faced more than eight years of various cancers with quiet courage, earning the description “Block Strong.”

James is survived by his children Martha, Steven (Olfen), and Michelle Lile (Overland Park, KS), and son-in-law Frank Naugle (Kinnelon, NJ). He is also survived by five cherished grandchildren—Tyler Lile (Salt Lake City, UT), Taylor Brancato (Michael) (Lee’s Summit, MO), Lauren Lile (Overland Park, KS), Christian Naugle (Morristown, NJ), and Lindsay Naugle (Hoboken, NJ)—as well as brother-in-law William Zak (Del Rio) and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, his beloved wife Lillian in 2016, daughter Melinda Naugle in 2005, and his siblings and their spouses.