More detail on this person: James R. Ervi Salado, Texas February 19, 1933 - May 1, 2023 Services for Jim Ervi will be Saturday, May 6, 10:00, at the Presbyterian Church in Salado with Carl Thompson officiating. A burial will follow at Salado Cemetery with Military Honors. Jim was born on February 19, 1933, in Electra, TX. He was raised by his mother, Gladys Ervi, until her death when he was 8 years old. He moved to Bartlesville, Oklahoma, where he lived with his grandparents on a farm. His grandmother died when Jim was 15, and with the assistance of his aunts, who lied about his age, he enlisted in the US Army at age 16. Jim did well at his basic training and attended leadership school. After being in the Army for only a year, he was sent to Korea to fight in the Korean War. He saw his first combat in August 1950. He became a platoon sergeant while in the war, still only 18 years old. He returned from Korea and was stationed at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. He began visiting back home in Bartlesville, where he went on a blind date with Roxie Berry, his eventual wife of 51 years. They married in late 1952, while Roxie was in the middle of her Senior year in high school. Jim had received orders to Germany, and Roxie followed him there after graduating high school in May 1953. Jim graduated from helicopter school in Fort Rucker, Alabama in 1957. He was sent to Korea for a year in 1961. Jim moved his family to Killeen in 1964, and he and Roxie bought a home there. Jim was sent to fly Huey gunships in the Vietnam War in 1965. After his return from Viet Nam, Jim and his family moved to Verona, Italy for two and a half years. Then Jim returned to Vietnam for another year before retiring from the US Army in 1969. He then worked for a Military Service Company selling to the varied units on Fort Hood. He was very successful, and then operated a car lot in Killeen for a few years, while also aiding Roxie in operating a convenience store in Granger. They moved to Salado on 10 undeveloped acres that they transformed into a small cattle ranch. Jim treasured every inch of the place and spent the rest of his life trying to make it a little more beautiful every year. Jim was a devoted grandfather. He attended all his grandchildren's sporting events. e is survived by his three sons: James and wife Kitty of Killeen, Mark and wife Mary of Killeen, and Barry, who lives in Carrollton. He has 6 grandchildren and two great grandchildren. The visitation will be one hour prior to the service. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to: Presbyterian Church of Salado, 105 Salado Plaza Drive, Salado, TX 76571. Services are in the care of Broecker Funeral Home of Salado. Please sign the guestbook: Broeckerfuneralhome.com
Burial information: Salado Cemetery
This information was last updated 05/05/2023
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Date posted on this site: 08/31/2024
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