James Hepp

Funeral services for James B. Hepp, 88-year-old Buffalo resident who passed away Friday evening at the Amie Holt Care Center in Buffalo will be held Saturday, June 24^th at 10:00 am at Summit Wesleyan Church in Buffalo with Pastor William Dunlap officiating.  Visitation will be held at the Harness Funeral Home Chapel on Friday from 2:00 pm until 9:00 pm.  Interment will be in Willow Grove Cemetery with graveside services to follow the funeral. Donations in Jim’s memory may be made to the Amie Holt Care Center at 497 West Lott in Buffalo, Wyoming 82834.  Online condolences may be made at www.harnessfuneralhome.com.

James Buell Hepp was born on February 15, 1935, in Buffalo to George and Georgene Hepp.  He grew up on a ranch North of Buffalo and attended Kearney Grade School and later attended Johnson County High School where he graduated with the class of 1953.  After high school, he attended Casper College for one year and then took a job as a mechanic at Ed Hammer Chevrolet in Sheridan.  He was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1958 and served at Fort Benning, Georgia. He was trained as a helicopter mechanic and spent time as an instructor at West Point Military Academy teaching officers how to drive trucks. He received an honorable discharge and returned to Buffalo. He was married on June 14, 1959, in Buffalo to Phyllis Hughes and they made their home in Buffalo.  After taking a job with Sun Oil, Jim, and Phyllis moved around the region following oil field work for four years.  In 1963 they returned to Buffalo where he started a water well business and worked as a bartender at the American Legion Club.  In 1970 he started James B. Hepp Excavating which he owned and operated until he retired in 2015.  Phyllis passed away in September of 2014 and James B. continued living in Buffalo until his death.

He was a member of the American Legion and loved to spend time in the mountains at the Hepp Family Cabin.  He enjoyed traveling, hunting, fishing, and snow machining, but his passion was following his children’s and grandchildren’s athletic and other activities. He is survived by two sons, Craig Hepp and his wife Tori of Franklin, Tennessee, and Spencer Hepp and his wife Paula of Buffalo; one daughter Missy Landrey and her husband Jerry of Buffalo; nine grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.  He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, two sons, Bruce, and Scot Hepp; one brother Bill Hepp, one sister Dorothy Will, and one great-grandson Baylor Hepp.