James “Jim” Edward Estep

James “Jim” Edward Estep, 90, of Onaway, died at home Saturday, July 3, 2021.  The son of Hagon “Burl” and Crisful (Chadwell) Estep, Jim was born in Harrogate, Tennessee October 16, 1930. Blessed with 60 years of marriage, he and Alice Wagner married February 26, 1955 in Redford and made their home in Livonia.

Jim worked as a natural gas technician for Michigan Consolidated Gas for many years before taking an opportunity to live in northern Michigan. In 1984, Jim took a position with the newly formed Aurora Gas Company and he and Alice moved to Onaway. With Jim’s years of experience in the gas industry, he was an asset to the company and was instrumental in the installation of the many miles of steel gas line and the service lines required to bring gas to customers.  

Jim enjoyed spending time with his family and looked forward to their visits and phone calls. He loved watching his granddaughters play basketball, volleyball, and especially softball. He watched their games from Little League and travel ball to high school and eventually college softball. Their greatest fan, Jim traveled the state to watch them play and enjoyed every minute of it. Jim loved cutting firewood, enjoyed deer hunting, and was an expert at growing tomatoes, which he also loved to eat.  Chances are there is not a man in Onaway that could eat as many tomatoes as Jim Estep. He was a regular at Lorenzo’s where he always ordered the perch dinner and when he couldn’t make it to the restaurant his perch dinner was delivered to his home.