James Michael Kimmins

James Michael Kimmins May 22, 1948 — October 28, 2025 James Michael "Mike" Kimmins of Amarillo died on October 28, 2025, at the age of 77. He was born on May 22, 1948, to James Irvin Kimmins and Lucille Hays Kimmins in Phillips, Texas, where he spent his entire childhood. He graduated from Phillips High School in 1966 and matriculated at West Texas State University, where he played basketball for two years before earning a B.S. in chemistry as well as an MBA. There, he met Becky Price of Canyon, and the couple married in 1971. The son of two educators, he taught chemistry and algebra for two years at Canyon High School while he completed his graduate studies at WT. Mike and Becky moved to Stow, Ohio, in 1973, where he began his 41-year career in sales and marketing management with Phillips Petroleum Company. After successive moves to Lombard, Illinois; Silver Lake, Ohio; Bartlesville, Oklahoma; Denver, Colorado; and Raleigh, North Carolina, Mike and Becky made Houston their home for more than 20 years before retiring to Amarillo in 2009. Mike was guided by his warmth, enthusiasm, generosity, and a sense of possibility. A native of the High Plains, he was at home anywhere; an only child, he found brothers as a member of Phi Delta Theta (Bond #139). Appropriately, given the attention attracted by his slender 6'8" frame, Mike was most comfortable at the center of things. Born to an avid fisherman, he possessed the gift for embellishment common to great storytellers. He relished the opportunity to tell and retell stories about the people and experiences he most loved: his idyllic (mis)adventures growing up in Phillips, his years at WT, his first date with Becky, their early marital adventures far from the Panhandle, business travels from the wintry Midwest to Europe and Asia, and rounds of golf with colleagues who became something more like family. While health challenges meant retirement could not be enjoyed exactly as hoped, Mike's positivity buoyed not only himself, but also those who cared for him. With the holidays approaching, his indefatigable spirit will be missed at family gatherings. Mike was preceded in death by his parents. He is survived by his wife, Becky, and son, Michael, both of Amarillo, brother-in-law Davis Price and wife Janet of Lubbock, sister in-law Patty Price of Amarillo, sister-in-law JoBeth Nepper and husband Terry of Amarillo, as well as ten cousins, three nephews, two nieces, and numerous friends. There will be a gathering of family and friends to celebrate Mike's life on Thursday, November 13, at 3:00 p.m., at the Joseph A. Hill Memorial Chapel on the campus of West Texas A&M University. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Borden and Jean Price Scholarship at WTAMU. For more information, contact the Office of Scholarship Services at 806-651 3330.