When they were newlyweds living in Aurora, Colo., Lynn Alsup asked her husband if he loved her more than anyone else. "He said, 'I'm not sure I'll love you tomorrow, but I love Jesus first, then you, then my family," said Lynn. She was a little irritated at the time, but after 49 years and 2 months of marriage her view has changed. "It was only because he loved Jesus that he could love me so well," said Lynn. "It was actually a lovely thing for him to say. That was one of the things he taught me." James Nelson Alsup died Saturday, July 9, 2016, at his home in Plano, Texas. He was 69. Mr. Alsup was born July 30, 1946, in Affton, Mo., to Jesse Howard and Pricie May Alsup. At the time, the family lived in a boxcar turned house provided by the railroad company where Mr. Alsup's father worked. The 7th of 8 children, Mr. Alsup grew up in Barnhart, Mo., and attended Crystal City High School. He then attended the University of Missouri in Columbia, Mo. In Columbia, Mr. Alsup met Lynn Hefflinger. They were married on May 20, 1967. After serving in the United States Air Force at a NATO base in Germany, Mr. Alsup finished his bachelor's degree in business at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kan. He joined the accounting firm Touche Ross (later Deloitte Touche) where he worked as an audit manager in Kansas City, Mo., and later Houston, Texas. In 1986, Mr. Alsup joined the oil and gas industry when he joined Primary Fuels, Inc., as the vice-president of finance. In 1990, he joined Hunt Oil to launch their office in Buenos Aires, Argentina. After his time at Hunt Oil, Mr. Alsup continued to work in the oil and gas industry with stints at Tazama Pipelines Limited in Zambia, and at Halliburton in Houston before he retired to his home in Plano. Mr. Alsup was a member at Hunter's Glen Baptist Church where he taught children's Sunday School for many years. He is survived by his wife, Lynn; their two children, James Nelson Alsup, Jr., and Sara Elizabeth Alsup; daughter-in-law, Nancy Alsup; granddaughter Margaret Paige Alsup; two sisters, Christine Dunn and Mary Sue Kraus, and numerous nieces and nephews. He will be interred at the Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery. Arrangements are under the direction of ARIA Cremation Service and Funeral Home 19310 Preston Road Dallas, Texas 75252 214-306-6700