James H. Morningstar

James Homer Morningstar, age 96, of South Charleston, passed away peacefully on September 11, 2025. He was born on October 19, 1928, to Henry James and Edna (Dement) Morningstar.

Jim was preceded in death in 2023 by his beloved wife of 72 years, Ruth Lucille (Ervin) Morningstar, whom he married on July 16, 1950.

He is survived by his daughter and son-in-law, Valerie and Jack Lemon; grandchildren John Bradley (Lyndsay) Lemon of Springfield, Ohio, and their daughter Maevis James Lemon; Curtis James (Abigail) Lemon of Nanyuki, Kenya, and their daughters Olivia Blake Morningstar Lemon and Amelia River Morningstar Lemon; and Alison Mae (Wade) Rice of Pitchin, Ohio, and their children Henry Stewart Rice, Andy Blazer Rice, and Charli Lou Rice.

Jim was loving, funny, lighthearted, and adventurous. Throughout his life, he worked in a variety of fields, including farming, as a systems analyst for SERS, as a foreman for Wilson Motor Freight, and, in his later years, at Shoemaker’s Hardware—where he continued working well into his retirement years, up to the age of 94.

Jim loved sports and was proud to be a member of the 1946 South Charleston High School basketball team that won the Clark County championship. He was an accomplished trapshooter, an avid bowler and golfer, and a loyal fan of the Southeastern Trojans and Cedarville University women's basketball. He also enjoyed traveling, visiting 48 of the 50 U.S. states, and found great joy in music, playing the steel guitar at midnight with his friends, the Water Buffaloes.

Visitation will be held on Tuesday, September 16, 2025 at Ingling Williams & Lewis Funeral Home, South Charleston, from 11:00 a.m. until his funeral beginning at 1:00 p.m. with Pastor Ben Webster officiating. Jim will be laid to rest next to his beloved Ruth, in Greenlawn Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the South Charleston United Methodist Church in Jim’s memory.