of Little Rock, AR

December 3, 1947 - December 11, 2024

James Christopher Huebsch, 77, of Little Rock, Arkansas passed away on December 11, 2024 at his home surrounded by family. He was born December 3, 1947 in Los Angeles, California to the late Dr. Raymond Frank and Ruth Sprinkle Huebsch. James is preceded in death by his parents and brother, John Huebsch of San Rafael, California. He is survived by his wife of 46 years, Janet Jacobs Huebsch; his son, Jamison Robert Huebsch (Kat Ray King) of Louisville, KY, grandchildren, Keely, Elijah and Sean and many people who loved him and considered him family.

James graduated from the New Mexico Military Institute and then attended University of San Francisco until he was recruited his senior year to join Union Oil's pioneer computer division, beginning his 56-year career in the computer industry. Although few know his name in a technological context, everyday millions of people benefit from his work in the computer industry. When he worked for Xerox in the early 2000s, James wrote algorithms and software that were intrinsic to the development of ebook technology. He was a talented software engineer and software developer and was awarded several patents for his designs and algorithms over the course of his career. Although he loved working with computers, James loved Janet and their son, Jamison more than anything in the world. When Janet wanted to explore a career in politics in North Carolina, James delayed a promotion to take care of Jamison and support her dreams.

Friends and family were well aware of James' love for a good pun or dad joke. To the dismay of his wife, he would often repeat the same classics whenever he had a new audience. It was a good year when he got a new joke. James was a man that knew what he liked and it was always a challenge to get him to try new things at the spur of the moment. Indeed, one of the most adventurous things he did was agree to a blind date with a girl from southern Arkansas while he was living in Arkansas while working for Levi-Strauss. That first date was the beginning of a fifty-year fairy-tale love story between James and Janet.

When James and Janet met, he had begun to expand his wardrobe from his business uniform of suit, white shirt and tie, but was never a fan of fashion. Luckily, Janet was happy to take charge of shopping for his clothes, although James had very specific taste and would quietly ''lose'' certain items that weren't his favorite color. From suits to t-shirts, James had a closet full of blue. But so great was his love for Janet, that he had exactly one shirt and sweater vest that were green and he would wear them once a year at Christmas. That first year he had a green shirt and vest, but each year after that he replaced one green item with his trademark blue.

Like his clothes, James had very specific taste in food. One of his favorite meals was when Janet would make oven roasted turkey breast for Thanksgiving and Christmas. When he would visit his son, Jamison, at least one meal had to be at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. Although he always looked at the menu, there wasn't really a need because his order was always the same. Back home in Little Rock, he had an average of five restaurants that he liked because they consistently prepared his food exactly the way he wanted. He was so consistent that, when they saw ''Mr. James'' walk in they would start preparing his order, because it would always be the same thing every time.

In the recent years, James stepped into the role of caregiver for Janet. Particularly during the COVID pandemic, because she was recovering from cancer treatment and couldn't risk exposure to the virus, he would add the groceries for that week to his spreadsheet and optimize his path through the store based on the items he needed to get. He also started a habit of bringing home flowers every Friday, just to brighten Janet's day. Janet and James were so in tune with each other that they could sit for hours without talking, because they each knew exactly what other was thinking.

Memorial services will be held at 2pm Friday, December 20th, 2024 at Trinity United Methodist Church, 1101 N Mississippi St, Little Rock, Arkansas. Memorial donations in James' memory may be directed to Immerse Arkansas (https://immersearkansas.org/), Little Rock Compassion Center (https://lrcompassioncenter.org/), the Gentiva Foundation (https://www.gentivahs.com/about/donate/) and Trinity United Methodist Church (https://tumclr.org/).

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