James Allen Lance

James Allen Lance of Sulphur, Oklahoma was born Nov. 17, 1957, in Oklahoma City to James Douglas and Margaret Elizabeth (Allen) Lance. He died Nov. 18, 2022, in Sulphur at age 65.

James grew up in Sulphur and graduated from Sulphur High School in 1976.

The son of an educator, James was known to always earn top grades while in school. He also helped his parents with the family business, the “In and Out” convenience store.

After high school, James attended Murray State College and later earned a Bachelor of Science degree from East Central University in 1981. Initially planning to pursue veterinary medicine, James had a change of heart and followed the call into public safety when he accepted a dispatcher position with the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, where he worked several years.

James served in a similar position with a sheriff’s department in the Dallas area before returning to Sulphur to help care for his parents.

Living in Sulphur, James worked for many years at Diacon’s Hardware Store, where he found a passion for helping people find just the right part and necessities at the hardware store. He served at Diacon’s until the store was sold. James loved motorcycles, hunting, tools and equipment. He was an avid collector and was known to many as a firearms expert. His constant companion was his little dog “Poncho.” He said the dog was a stray and a mutt, but they had a lot in common.

James was preceded in death by his parents.

He is survived by a sister, Kelly Suzanne Lance, Charlotte, North Carolina; a niece, Kylie Lance, Brooklyn, New York; aunts LaDonna Kay (Lance) Chaffin, Ada, Oklahoma, and Patsy (Lance) Trail, Norman, Oklahoma; and numerous cousins.

Services will be held 10:00AM, Friday, December 2, 2022, at Hale’s Memorial Chapel, in Sulphur, with Brother Eddie Dye officiating. Interment will follow at the Dougherty Cemetery.

Services are entrusted to Hale’s Funeral Home of Sulphur.

Online condolences may be offered at halesfuneralhomes.com.