James "Jim" Delos Elswick

Jim Elswick, 75, died on August 21, 2018 at Hospice  Houston, in Houston, TX after  a short battle with lung cancer.  He spent his last days  surrounded by his wife of 20 years, Bobbie, and his five  children. Jim was born on  July 15, 1943 in Oklahoma City,  OK, to K.D. and Rosalee Elswick. Jim’s life-long career in the contact lens industry started during college at Tom Brown Optical in Oklahoma City, which led to positions at Universal Contact Lens and Chandler Laboratories in Houston, TX; Danker Contact Lens, Phoenix, AZ; Rodgers & Clarke, Rockford, IL; and Coburn Optical, Muskogee, OK. He ended up back at Universal Contact Lens in Houston, which he purchased from his old boss. Jim and Bobbie ran the business together until they retired in 2012. Jim truly enjoyed his work and had the opportunity to travel the world, where he made many friends in the industry. A real passion of Jim’s was the 13 years he spent at the University of Houston College of Optometry helping with research. He made some very special friends there. Jim loved fishing, spending a lot of time baiting hooks and untangling lines when his children were little. He was a marksman, winning an NRA contest as a teenager and making a gun safety video during his time as a Scout. He often went target shooting and liked to restore old guns. Jim served many terms on the board for Forrest Lake Townhouse Community over the 20 years he lived there. When Jim retired, he enjoyed traveling to see his children and grandchildren, and also taking special trips with Bobbie to San Antonio — wandering the countryside to see the annual blooming of the bluebonnets. Jim is survived by his wife, Bobbie Elswick and their daughter, Christie Patton Smith of London, KY, and grandson Brandon Smith of Lexington, KY; his first wife, Sharon Cox and their children, Lauri (Glenn) Leadley of Mesa, AZ, Barry (Maria) Elswick of San Diego, CA, Amy (Brian) Anderson of Rockford, IL, and Melanie (Corey) Elias of Broken Arrow, OK; his grandchildren Kaylee (Scott) Falkner of Sydney, Australia, Colton Leadley of Mesa, AZ, Connor (Hannah) Leadley of Chicago, IL, Krista (Connor) Anderson-Larson of St. Paul, MN, Madelynn Elias of Broken Arrow, OK, Sophia Elswick of San Diego, CA, Maggie Elias of Broken Arrow, OK, Keller Elswick of San Diego, CA; and greatgrandchildren, Zoey and Milly Falkner of Sydney, Australia. Jim was preceded in death by his parents K.D. and Rosalee Elswick, and his sisters — Julie Elswick and Janey Sparks.

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