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March 28, 2026
The funeral for James Bangle will be here at St. John on Saturday, March 28th.
Visitation will begin at noon with the service at 2:00pm. A reception will follow.
Obituary:
Reverend James “Jim” Henry Bangle, 81, died at his home in Marion, Virginia, on March 17, 2026.
Born on June 14, 1944, in Charlotte, North Carolina, Jim lived in nine different towns growing up and in three different states over the course of his lifetime. Yet one of his most beloved places remains Camp Ho Non Wah on Wadmalaw Island, South Carolina, where he was a Boy Scout counselor. Jim lived by the Boy Scout motto, prepared for any situation.
After graduating from Lenoir Rhyne University in Hickory, North Carolina, Jim earned a Master of Divinity from the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary and was ordained as a Lutheran pastor at St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church in Richmond, Virginia, where he served from 1970 to 1976. Jim’s longest church home was Ebenezer Lutheran Church in Marion, where he pastored for over 31 years. For an entire generation, he baptized, counseled, mentored, married, buried, and prayed over most of Smyth County while raising an extended and dearly loved family of his own.
Jim devoted his so-called “retirement” to more service, including providing individual counseling as an LCSW-licensed therapist at Heatherwood Counseling Center for 24 years, decades of volunteering with Rotary International, and serving as interim pastor at numerous Lutheran and Episcopal churches throughout southwestern Virginia and northeastern Tennessee. He loved his fifteen years of service as a chaplain for the FBI and many years as chaplain for the Marion Police Department, both of which brought him new friendships and unique experiences. He proudly served as a chaplain at the Pentagon in the aftermath of 9/11.
Jim is predeceased by his parents, Brad and Mary Bangle, and is survived by his wife of 46 years, Elizabeth Jo Bangle; his children, Rachel Waddell (Scott) and Philip Bangle (Amanda); his stepchildren, Brett Taylor, LeAnne Bellar, and Michael Taylor; his sisters, Mary Jo Johnson (Archie) and Carol Porter; grandchildren Abbey, Nick, Alex, Sam, Gabe, Miriam, Francis, Henry, and Ben; great-grandchildren Macklyn and Bear; as well as many nieces, cousins, and friends whom he loved as family. He is also survived by a legion of jokes (of the good, bad, and Dad variety) and great stories to be recounted and reshared, as well as an unbeatable laugh that won’t be forgotten.
A celebration of his life will be held at St. John Lutheran Church in Abingdon on Saturday, March 28, at 2:00 p.m. The family will receive friends 12:00 - 2:00 p.m.
Memorial contributions may be made to the James Henry Bangle Scholarship Fund at www.lr.edu/give or by mail at James Henry Bangle Scholarship Fund, 625 7th Avenue NE, Lenoir Rhyne University 7467, Hickory, NC 28601.
Expressions of sympathy may be sent to the family at www.bradleysfh.com. Bradley's Funeral Home is serving the family.