Printer-friendly version
Celebration of Life to be held December 28 in La Mesa
By Ben Perez
Photo of Jim Wieboldt and his pug, Frank The Felon, courtesy Amanda Allsberry
December 12, 2024 (La Mesa) -- A respected deputy in the San Diego County Sheriff's Crime Prevention Unit for more than a dozen years, James “Jim” Warren Wieboldt was much more than just an officer of the law. Wiebolt was a civic and business community leader, serving as founding chairman of the La Mesa Chamber of Commerce, Chair of the city’s Parking Commission, and Chair of the La Mesa Centennial Project’s Events and Calendar Committee. He was also active in the La Mesa Village Merchants Association.
Wieboldt died of an unknown cause at his home in Fallon, Nev., on Dec. 7. He was 67.
Guided by faith and spending countless hours as a youth pastor in East County, he was a father figure to countless children and young adults through the years and a devoted parent to the three biological children he raised in La Mesa with his wife of 42 years and high school sweetheart, Kelly, who preceded him in death four years ago.
"My dad was so much more than a sheriff," said his middle daughter, Amanda Allsberry about her father. "My dad had a heart for people. I know a lot of people know him from the sheriff's department but the biggest part about my dad was he was always about everybody else. He and my mother took care of everybody."
Allsberry said she remembers much of her younger years spent at First Baptist Church, where her father was an iconic figure.
"We had Bible study during the week and every Sunday after church he would have some sort of activity for us," she recalled. "He had a bus that he got with the church and he would bus around these 20 kids every single Sunday. We’d go to Bates Nut Farm or Disneyland or whatever. I mean it was always something . And so when I was growing up it wasn’t just the three kids it was 25 kids."
Allsberry said that on the weekends, it was always sleepover time for local kids at her house. Those who "fell through the cracks" without a stable home life would come to the Wieboldt home, where they always got a home-cooked meal "an insane amount of food all the time, or sometimes 25 cheeseburgers from McDonald's, because there were people in and out all the time" Allsberry said.
"They took care of everybody," Allsberry said.
Wieboldt was born on July 1, 1957 in New York, and was adopted by Warren and Tula Wieboldt, who moved with their young son to San Diego when he was a toddler. He graduated from Grossmont High School in 1975, where he was a proud member of the Red Robe Choir, which he referred to in the dearest of terms through the years.
Wieboldt later earned a degree in criminal justice from National University in San Diego.
He owned several businesses through the years, and helped his wife with her travel agency during the 2010s.
The two moved to Nevada in 2017 to be closer to Kelly Wieboldt's parents and take care of them, but even a state away, Jim Wieboldt stayed closely connected to the friends he made through the years in California.
"People were everything to him," Allsberrry said. "His goal was, 'How can I show God’s love to people?' He talked to everybody and cared about then. He let you know, whether it was once a month or every couple of weeks. The connection he made, even if it was for 10 minutes, people felt seen, they felt valued. He was just wonderful at staying connected and continuing to be somebody who was showing up for people in a positive way."
Wieboldt, a regular at La Mesa City Council meetings, dabbled in politics. He ran unsuccessfully for mayor in La Mesa when he was 18, and in 2012 tried to land a seat on the La Mesa City Council in 2012, but later dropped out and endorsed Shannon O’Dunn. He also ran for city treasurer in 2006.
Though retired, Wieboldt continued to volunteer and work for several years in the 2020s in Nevada. He also worked in the Juvenile Probation Department in Fallon for a nearly two years after he and Kelly moved to Nevada.
Wieboldt, who had six grandchildren that he doted on when they visited their grandparents, was also devoted to his beloved Pug, whom he named Frank The Felon, or FTF.
When his wife was diagnosed with cancer, Wieboldt created a Facebook group, "Prayer Warriors for Kelly Wieboldt," and posted often with health updates, allowing friends and family members to share thoughts and photographs.
Kelly Wieboldt passed away from complications related to cancer in 2020, but Jim Wieboldt continued to post regularly on the page.
Less than a week before he died, Wieboldt shared an anniversary post in the Prayer Warriors group about how two years earlier, he had completed radiation treatments for his own cancer diagnosis.
In the days following the celebratory anniversary of finishing radiation, he shared religious-themed thoughts and uplifting photographs. One post included a photo of his wife and a grandson with the comment, "Forgetting the past and looking foward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. Phil 3:13b-14."
Katie Dexter, a former Lemon Grove School District Board member who now lives in Wisconsin, said she grieves the loss of her friend and confidante. The two met when Wieboldt was a crime prevention specialist for the district and worked closely with all the schools.
"We just hit it off and we probably got together once or twice a month over at the Lemon Grove Deli for breakfast," Dexter recalled. "He was a larger-than-life personality. Jim was a great storyteller, but you really had to read between the lines. He had so many friends, he just knew so many people."
Allsberry said somebody asked her if she was frustrated seeing people who are not leading the best lives carrying on and upsetting society, "while you lost your mom so early, and she was so nice."
"The only thing I can think of, the only thing that brings me comfort, and I mean the only thing that matters is that -- and I know that my dad would want this to be known -- is that they they ran their race and they did it well," she said. "And maybe these other people are having a harder time in life or whatever. Maybe they’re still here because Jesus is still trying to give them opportunities to know Him. So I I’m not going to play God, I’m not going to pretend to be God, but I think it’s important to remind people that if if you still have a parent here or a loved one... you know, give them a squeeze."
Hundreds of friends posted loving tributes to Wieboldt on his Facebook page, including J June Cox, who thanked Wieboldt for his stories of justice, kindness and pride.
"Thank you for teaching me, and about a gazillion people, about how to love and protect lives, beauty, the intangible, priority, your God, your Lord and Saviour, your spouse, your family, other people's families, your church, your community, your friend, and your fellow man, women and child, in ever single walk of your life. Thank you for being so stubbornly convicted in understanding precisely what was right and what was wrong AND being able to illuminate it so clearly," Cox wrote.
Wieboldt was preceded in death by his parents and wife, and leaves behind his son, James (Amy) Wieboldt; daughters Amanda (Jed) Allsberry; and Becky (Andrew) Beirne; and six grandchildren. Amanda Allsberry said that a young man that Wieboldt took in, Kevin Kennedy, is also considered to be a brother to her.
There will be a celebration of life for Wieboldt held at 3 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 28 at the First Baptist Church of La Mesa at 8111 Orange Ave.
Recent comments