JAMES CAMPBELL INGELS JR.

James Campbell Ingels, Jr. March 28, 1969-July 28, 2025 In the early hours of July 28, 2025, James (Jamey) Campbell Ingels, Jr. met his Heavenly Father and began the glorious Eternity he had chosen for himself from a young age. A devout Christian, Jamey lived by personal tenets reflecting his faith: • Compassion • Hunger for Life-Long Learning • Family Love • Patriotic Service • Care for Those in Need • Gratitude • Loyalty • Faithfulness. The fraternal head of a family of eclectic and artistic siblings born in the late 1960s-early 1970s (Margo, Jamey, Treasure, Honor, and Robyn), Jamey took his roles of adventurer, maker, and innovator very seriously. In these capacities, Jamey had built on the substantial U.S. domestic travels his parents had set all their children on to become an international traveller of great experience by his early 20s. Many of Jamey’s journeys occurred near or on the water, and this makes perfect sense as the family business in his early years was Ingels Evinrude in Midfield, Alabama and his beloved father, Jim, had worked as a professional lifeguard in his teen and college years. Following in his Daddy’s footsteps, Jamey tackled his first real job with gusto, teaching swimming lessons for the American Red Cross at the Holding Park Pool in Wake Forest, North Carolina at just 11 years old. By 14, he had achieved his life saving certification. His life guarding duties primarily happened at the community pool in Leeds, Alabama and at Oak Mountain State Park Pelham, Alabama. In addition to being an avid outdoorsman in the footsteps of his father, Jamey was an accomplished artist and maker with the guidance of his mother, Margo, an author, artist, and thespian. Even in elementary school, his designs garnered broad acclaim as his submission to the American Lung Association’s Christmas Seal design competition was selected to be dispersed nationwide. From there, Jamey’s creativity knew no bounds. He performed in “Peter Pan” with Theater in the Park at NC State under the direction of Ira David Wood, truly loving the experience and the camaraderie of the stage. When he wanted to make sterling silver gifts for his family, he built a melting furnace with crucible in his backyard, liquified doubloons, cast the liquid beauty into molds he had made by hand, and bestowed one to each of his loved ones without an inkling of pride though all were overwhelmed by the artistry and love contained in the small, simple boxes. As a musician, Jamey played the clarinet, saxophone, guitar, and snare drums (Heritage Pipes and Drums, Vestavia). He talked constantly about starting a family band, absolutely certain that he and his siblings could make a worthy musical impact on the world even in their 50s. Jamey’s passion for artistic self-expression remained a driving force throughout his life. In his last days and many months preceding those, he enjoyed time spent listening to his nephew Rider play the piano and guitar with gusto inspired in part by his music aficionado Uncle Jamey. After having obtained a license for cosmetology (Florida) and pursuing a degree in Art (University of Montevallo, AL), Jamey set his sights on broader horizons, heading to Seattle to find work on a fishing vessel stationed primarily in Dutch Harbor, Alaska. The work was grueling and the hours long, but Jamey loved the exercise it allowed him to achieve, believed deeply in the significance of the discipline it required, and quickly rose through the ranks to be first a Freezer Boss and later the 3rd Mate of the legendary Alaska Ranger. Often he and his family said thanks to God that Jamey had retired from that role, as 3 years after he stepped down, the Captain, 2nd Mate, and 3rd Mate of this ship perished in an internationally covered disaster. A man of duty, Jamey surely would have met his Maker that day had he been on board. Jamey fished in various seas and oceans from the Gulf of Mexico (in those days) to Alaska and even Japan. He entered his first fishing gigs as a fitness-focused vegetarian but quickly became a well-versed pescatarian in order to stay fed. Working 18-hour shifts 7 days a week afforded Jamey a comfortable adventure schedule of 3-6 months a year. When he was not at sea, Jamey visited family in the USA, made friends all over the world, and achieved a childhood dream of owning and operating (via 99-year lease) a surf shop on the sands of Costa Rica. Jamey’s greatest times abroad, though, were dedicated to a whirlwind romance that grew to lifelong love affair with his partner Lilia. Together, they made a beautiful, happy family as Jamey learned firsthand the joys of fatherhood as he and Lilia welcomed Olintzin (Ollie) into the world. Jamey proudly explained to his sisters and brothers that “Ollintzin” meant “she who moves the Earth.” Even before his beautiful daughter was born, Jamey knew that she would change the world in wonderful ways. Prior to meeting Lilia, Jamey enjoyed a rather exciting vagabond lifestyle as he hiked throughout Mexico and other nations. In fact, one of his greatest adventures was hiking the Appalachian Trail with his youngest brother Robyn. Almost as soon as he had met Lilia, Jamey shared that he was deeply in love with her and thrilled to have her with him for adventure and discovery. As Ollintzin grew, Jamey marveled at the beautiful combination she represented of culture, history, and a future of unity. Jamey’s adventures were often harrowing, as well. In the days when he traveled on his own through Mexico, Jamey had met many wonderful people with whom he worked to keep in touch, but he had also faced off with less desirable types. When he shared stories of having fought his way out of an ambush of knife-wielding bandits, his family accepted the tale as fact because Jamey was a force of nature, absolutely in tip top shape, had the scuffs to prove it, and was the veritable badass in any room. In his mid-30s, a routine health exam revealed a previously unknown congenital condition necessitating heart surgery. In keeping with Jamey’s tenacious personality, a disagreeable relationship with one of his nurses inspired him to retire from the fishing industry to pursue his licensure as a nurse. In this role, Jamey served a broad range of people in need of compassionate, focused, and highly disciplined help. Having begun his medical work at the bottom as a CNA and working up to his nursing role, Jamey exhibited incredible respect for his coworkers and clients alike. Jamey’s nursing duties put him into a bevy of roles from Seattle, Washington, to the Mexican-USA border towns to Yuma, Arizona, and, finally, back to Alabama. He worked as a private contract nurse on an island off the coast of Seattle, nursing homes, convalescent centers, with Alzheimer’s patients (at Montclair), with the criminally insane at Brice Hospital, and with prisoners at Donaldson Correctional Facility. True to his powerful personality, Jamey turned a bad experience as a patient in dire pain to a career of compassionate care for those who needed most to be heard and understood. Sometimes, his work as a nurse was daunting. He saw patients healed, but he also witnessed patients die. On one occasion, a patient who had purposely hidden crucial medicines away instead of consuming them even pulled Jamey’s eye out of his head. Jamey subdued the patient according to protocol without doing any harm to the offender, pushed his eye back into its socket, and had himself transported to a fully equipped hospital to have doctors ensure his eye had not suffered any damage. Not only was he vindicated when the video assessment of the event demonstrated he had acted according to all necessary regulations, but his family was unified in our stunned appreciation for his continued badassery. Although some might doubt this, there are many stunning aspects of Jamey’s life and contributions that have not even been hinted at here. His loved ones carry with them memories of his nonchalant telling of amazing stories of his fantastic life as they listened dumbfounded, riveted, always proud. These stories will be gifts we bestow on our progeny and so on. Of the tales he heard from his uncle, his eldest nephew David shares, “Uncle Jamey’s stories of his mariner days helped inspire me to attend the United States Merchant Marines Academy (USMMA).” In addition to his loving relationship with his own daughter, Jamey was a beloved role model for four nephews, three nieces, one great niece, and two great nephews. His oldest niece Ditto emphasizes that her Uncle Jamey was a ravenous lifelong learner and sought self-improvement opportunities every day, often contacting his loved ones with advice on how they might have more fun, better opportunities, and a more fulfilling life. Most poignant of all, our beloved niece Ollie explains this of Jamey’s “pure and good soul:” “I feel that my dad was an angel who protected, cared for, and accompanied us all in life. Now, he is the same, just from another place.” Among those who ask that you join us in celebrating Jamey’s incredible life are his wife Lilia Isabel Bermúdez Hernández and daughter Ollintzin Campbell Ingels Bermúdez; sisters Margo Jamelle Ingels and Treasure (Randy) Lois Ingels; brothers Honor (Jana) Ladd Ingels and Robyn (Cheryl) RoySmith Ingels; aunt Jean Bedford; nieces Ditto, Abigail, and Meredith, nephews David (Allison), Rider, Ladd, and Pax; great niece and nephews Lily, Mason, and Miles. Also important to Jamey were his late brother-in-law James Weaver (Margo) and former brother-in-law Charles Thompson, father of David and Pax. For all Eternity, Jamey now celebrates the rewards of a life well-lived and, ultimately, a relationship with his Heavenly Father that brought him home to Glory. His parents, James C. Ingels, Sr. and Margo Roy Smith Ingels have welcomed him with joyous hearts. This reunion includes his beloved Aunt Doris Jean Woodward; his fun-loving Uncle Ronny Bedford; his paternal grandparents, Melvin Lloyd Ingels and Flora Baker Campbell Ingels; and his maternal grandparents, William Roy Smith and Lois Tow Smith. A Celebration of Life Service will be held Saturday, September 6, 2025 from 1:00PM until 4:00PM, at Hueytown First Methodist Church. .