Published in The Enterprise, February 27, 2009

JIM E. STEVENS, 61

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Jim E. Stevens, 61, died Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2009, at his home in Fort Calhoun after battling lung cancer.

Funeral services will be 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 28, at Reichmuth Funeral Home in Elkhorn. Interment will be in Prospect Hill Cemetery in Elkhorn.

Visitation will be from noon to 8 p.m. Friday at the funeral home, with the family receiving friends from 6 to 8 p.m.

Jim E. Stevens was born May 30, 1947, in Hastings to Lyle and Jean Stevens. He attended Sunday School and was baptized at the Waterloo Church of Christ in 1962.

Growing up in Omaha, he played a trombone in the 4-H Band; loved riding in go-cart derbies; and was a Cub Scout. He graduated from Benson High School in 1965, and then attended Kearney State College for two years, majoring in plastics.

On May 3, 1968, he married Linda Kuehn in Blair at the First Christian Church.

Through the years, he worked at his dad’s Deluxe Body shop; was a mechanic at Caterpillar; made and repaired boats at his company, Omaha Fiberglass; was a Sergeant for the Douglas county Sheriff’s Department; was captain on the River Belle cruise boat; and was a salesman for Yankton Radiator, Peet’s Feeds, Kuker Industries, and Priefert Manufacturing. Mr. and Mrs. Stevens then traveled the country for the past nine years as mobile vendors selling western wear at rodeos, horse events, country music festivals and livestock shows. They have many wonderful mobile vendor friends who have helped tremendously the past two years of Jim’s illness.

He loved hunting and fishing throughout his life but never seemed to have the time to do enough of it. His favorite things were watching his boys show Shorthorn cattle; living in the country; watching his grandsons play sports (hockey, football and baseball); scuba diving; tending to his garden; cruising in his Sea Ray on the Missouri River; and watching old westerns and TV shows. He also loved Husker football and even when he could barely climb the steps this year, he did attend one game. For the past 10 years or so, he learned to love to cook - - Emeril and the Food Network got lots of attention from him. He also loved to smoke Hormel ribs all day, and he never got to enter a barbecue contest as he had hoped to do. Another thing he enjoyed, besides his John Deere tractor and his dog, Gus, was his big red truck and trailer that traveled with him and his wife throughout the U.S.

His family notes that they will always remember him in his pressed and starched blue jeans and western shirt, belt buckle, black cowboy hat or ball cap and his cowboy boots. He will also be remembered as a hard worker that could build or fix anything. He was never lazy and instilled his tireless work ethic in his boys.

His greatest regret when he was diagnosed with terminal cancer, was not seeing his grandchildren grow up. Although it was difficult for him to always show his emotions, he was so proud of his boys, and he loved his family with all his heart.

He is survived by his wife, Linda; sons and daughters-in-law, Brian and Laurie of Austin, Minn.; Tod and Frances of Winslow; five grandchildren; parents, Lyle and Jean Stevens of Omaha; sister and brother-in-law, Diane and Dave Bartos of Redmond, Wash.; three nieces.