James Barger

SIOUX CITY -- James Barger, 92, of Sioux City passed away Monday, July 13, 2009, at a Sioux City care facility.

Services will be 10:30 a.m. Monday at Riverside Lutheran Church, with Pastor Chuck Wolff officiating. Burial will be in Logan Park Cemetery. Visitation will be 5 to 8 p.m. today, with the family present 5:30 to 8 p.m. and a prayer service at 6 p.m., at the church. Arrangements are under the direction of Berkemier Chapel, Christy-Smith Funeral Home. Online condolences may be sent to www.christysmith.com .

James was born on Nov. 29, 1916, in Westfield, Iowa, to Victor and Mary (Sockup) Barger. The family farmed until he was nine and they then moved to Sioux City. He grew up in the Siouxland area and attended Sioux City schools. At the age of 17, he joined the CCC (Civil Conservation Corps), where he became a certified welder and heavy equipment operator. He later left the Corps and returned to his uncle's farm in the Tyndall, S.D. area. It was during this time, he met his future wife, Vera Johnson, at a dance in Vermillion, S.D. They married on Sept. 3, 1938, in Elk Point, S.D. She passed away Nov. 24, 2002.

James was not drafted during World War II due to punctured eardrums. He was, however, hired to help build the Sioux City Air Base and use his welding and heavy equipment operation skills. Following the completion of the air base, the family moved to Hastings, Neb., for the construction of an ammunition dump. When this project was completed, they moved back to the Riverside area of Sioux City and resided here ever since.

Returning to Sioux City, James assisted in the construction of Barger Bros., a truck repair and service business, and later a contracting service that would later put in cable for Northwestern Bell. He retired in 1982, but still continued to stay active, welding and building computer desks for the career education center at Central Campus.

James was always involved in many activities in the Riverside area, from doing extra jobs, grading work for the racetrack or doing maintenance work at the Gordon Twin Drive-in on the merry-go-rounds. He enjoyed taking care of the yard and flowers, especially roses, raising a garden, canning, taking in stray animals and showing his children how to care for them. James thoroughly enjoyed having friends and family over on Sunday afternoons to play a game of croquet or badminton.

Survivors include his children, Joyce Peck of Hawarden, Iowa, Delores (Smith) Rochester of Oxford, Ala., and Carol and Joe Pitham of Sloan, Iowa; a daughter-in-law, Ruby Barger of Omaha, Neb.; 13 grandchildren; 25 great-grandchildren; a great-great-grandchild; a brother, Robert Barger of Sioux City; two sisters, Evelyn Jones of Portland, Ore., and Virginia Schmidt of Sioux City; many nieces and nephews; as well as many special friend from Riverside Lutheran Church and the Riverside area.

He was preceded in death by an infant son; a son, James R. Barger; a granddaughter, Racquel Stilles; three sons-in-law, Richard Smith, James Rochester and Bernard Peck; and a niece.