James Scott

James Eldon Scott, 72, passed away on Sunday, August 20, 2017 at Casa de la Luz Hospice in Tucson Arizona, in the presence of his daughters who will miss him greatly.   
Visitation was held Saturday, September 2nd, 2017 from 9-11 a.m. at First Assembly of God Church in Jefferson, Iowa with a graveside service following at 11:30 a.m. at Grand Junction Township Cemetery.

Jim was born on January 29, 1945 in Jefferson, Iowa to C. Eldon and M. Eileen Scott and grew up on a farm in rural Dana, Iowa. Growing up, Jim was a typical farm boy who enjoyed hunting, fishing and caring for livestock on the family farm. He participated in 4H, which eventually spawned two more generations of proud 4Hers. He attended East Greene High School and graduated in 1963. During his high school career, he participated in basketball and baseball. He enlisted in the Iowa Army National Guard in September 1963 and trained at Ft. Leonard Wood, Mo. and Ft. Sill, Okla. with the Company A 5th Battalion 2D Regiment. He was married in 1964 to Sue Thornton, and from that union came Barbara Jo (stillborn), Brenda and Becky. He worked at YW Hybrid, owned the DX Station and managed the local fertilizer plant until 1985. He was a member of the Grand Junction Jaycees and named Jaycee of the Year and served on the Grand Junction Fire Department as an EMT-A.  

Jim divorced in 1985 and moved to Tucson, Arizona where he worked for Shamrock Dairy until it closed. He volunteered for the Fire Cache to support the fire fighters battling wildfires in Arizona, which he enjoyed. While in Tucson he met Rhonda Rose and the two were married in 1987. He became step dad to “little” Rhonda, Roy, Marnie and Aaron (deceased). After the dairy closed, he worked for the Marana Unified School District as a school bus driver until he retired in 2007. After retirement, he spent a great deal of time caring for Rhonda, who passed away in 2014. He loved to tinker in his shop and welded many pieces of art including wagons, tractor seat stools, planters and metal cut-outs that he shared with family and friends. He loved his four little dogs (BB, Star, Buddy and Chopper) along with all the wildlife in his back yard (quail, hummingbirds, javelina, bobcats and coyotes). He truly enjoyed nature and teaching his daughters and grandchildren about the desert wildlife.

For all the things he collected throughout his years, his largest collection by far was his collection of friends. They came from all walks of life and diverse backgrounds and he never knew a stranger.  While he would not always verbally express his love for family or friends, he did so with his actions—always being there to help someone who needed help. For this he will be missed the most.

Jim was preceded in death by his parents, C. Eldon and M. Eileen Scott; daughter, Barbara Jo Scott; wife, Rhonda Scott; and step son, Aaron Rose. He is survived by his daughters, Brenda (Greg) Gill and grandson, Alek Gill and Becky (Rod) Freeman and grandchildren - Megan McCormick, Brandon (Samantha) Schmidt and Cole Schmidt; step children: Rhonda (Wayne) Rogers and grandson, Dustin (Lacey) Rogers; Roy (Natalie) Rose and grandsons, Brandon and Garret Rose; Marnie Rose and grandson, Ryan; eight great-grandchildren; sister, Judy (Jim) Glasgow; brother, Jay (Corienne) Scott; aunt, Carol (Bud) Kyle; nieces, nephews, cousins and many, many friends.

In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made in loving memory of Jim Scott to one of two places - the hospice that took excellent care of him in his last few hours on earth, Casa de la Luz, Casa Hospice at the Hacienda, 2720 E River Rd, Bldg #6, Tucson, AZ 85718 or, due to his participation in 4H as a kid and passing that love of 4H on to his daughters and grandsons who all participated in 4H, The Iowa 4H Foundation, Extension 4H Youth Building ISU, 1259 Stange Rd, Ames, IA 50011-3630.