James “Jim” Rollin Wetherbee

James “Jim” Rollin Wetherbee, 65, of Galesburg died at 12:35 pm Sunday, March 26, 2017 at his home.

He was born March 11, 1952 in Galesburg the son of Charles Rollin and Helen Jeanette Holmquist Wetherbee. He married Narelle Anne Royal on May 12, 1984 in Sydney, Australia. He later married Elena V. Gordiyenko on March 23, 2013 in Galesburg.

He is survived by his wife, Elena; his two sons, Jackson Taylor Wetherbee of Galesburg and Benjamin Charles Wetherbee of Lake Forest, Illinois; a stepson, Dimitriy Apenko of Dnepro, Ukraine; his brother, Thomas Charles (Lisa Joyce) Wetherbee of Piedmont, California and two sisters, Sara (Barry) Koeneke of Hallsville, Missouri and Jane (JC) Wise of Galesburg. He is preceded in death by his parents.

Jim was a teacher in Sydney, Australia from 1974-2011. He was a ceramist, sculptor and painter. He was an art teacher at St. Vincent College and head of the Art Department from 1982-1999. He was the senior painting instructor at Trinity Grammar School from 2000-2011. He graduated from Galesburg High School in 1970. He graduated from Knox College in 1974 and received his Masters of Fine Arts from Southern Methodist University in 1978. He had a specialty in Art History.

Jim was a model in Sydney for three years. He was a scuba diving instructor. He had toured Australia with the Bankstown Bruins Basketball team. Jim was a member of the Soangetaha Country Club, New South Wales Golf Club and The Australian Golf Club both in Sydney. Jim was an accomplished golfer being club champion at all the clubs he belonged. He was also the All-City Champion of Galesburg in 1972.

Jim moved back to Galesburg in 2011 to care for his mother.

Funeral Services are scheduled for 10:00 a.m. Thursday, March 30, 2017 at Hinchliff-Pearson-West Galesburg Chapel with Harley Knosher and Bob Bondi officiating. Visitation will be from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Wednesday, March 29, 2017 at the Chapel. Private family burial will be in Memorial Park Cemetery. Memorials may be made to the A.L.S. Foundation, the Helen H. Wetherbee Nursing Scholarship Fund at the Galesburg Community Foundation, the Soangetaha Memorial Tree Planting Fund, or Knox College. Online condolences may be made at www.h-p-w.com.