Jim James Edwards III

Sioux City - Lawrence James "Jim" Edwards III, 69, of Sioux City passed away Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013, at his residence following a five-year battle with cancer.
Services will be noon Saturday at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Sioux City, with the Rev. Russell Senstad officiating. A luncheon will be served following the service at the church. Graveside services will be 2:30 p.m. Saturday in Banner Township Cemetery, Lawton, Iowa. Visitation will be 4 to 8 p.m. today, with the family present 6 to 8 p.m. and a prayer service at 7 p.m., at the church. Arrangements are under the direction of Morningside Chapel, Christy-Smith Funeral Home.
Jim was born on Sept. 28, 1943, in rural Correctionville, Iowa, to Lawrence, Jr. and Phyllis (Wright) Edwards. He graduated from Lawton High School in 1961. He then attended Iowa State University for two years, then attended the University of South Dakota, graduating in January 1966 with a degree in economics.
He was an accomplished baseball player, having played at Lawton in pee wee, midgets, and high school. He continued playing at Iowa State, legion and a regional amateur league. Jim was also a starter on the Lawton High School basketball team.
After graduating from USD, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps for two years, serving one year at Quantico, Va., and then at the Naval Weapons Station in Concord, Calif.
Upon leaving the Corps, he moved to Minneapolis and worked as a programmer/analyst for Target Stores Corp. Remarkably, he met his future wife, Jayne, within a few hours upon arriving in Minneapolis.
Jim and Jayne Okland were united in marriage on May 3, 1969, in rural Lake Mills, Iowa. The couple and their young sons moved to Sioux City in 1973, where Jim worked as a programmer/analyst at Sioux Tools. He thereafter started two businesses, Greenway Lawn Care and Copy Express Printing, which still exist today. After selling those companies, Jim pursued further interests including starting a real estate inspection company, becoming a real estate agent, teaching computer programming at Western Iowa Tech Community College, and working part time as a driver for the LifeServe Blood Bank. Most recently, Jim acquired Rose Hill Apartments in Ponca, Neb.
Jim will be remembered by his family and numerous friends for his kindness, sense of humor, and intellect. He will also be remembered for his passion for the St. Louis Cardinals, Iowa Hawkeyes, Lawton-Bronson Eagles, and Morningside College Mustangs.
Survivors include his loving wife, Jayne; his sons, Thomas (Becky) of Yutan, Neb., and David (Jennifer) of Sioux Falls, S.D.; his six grandchildren, Jill, Cole, Kelsey, Cade, Jack and Carson Edwards; his father, Lawrence Edwards of Lawton; and his sisters, Sandra (Scott) Newberry, of Tuscon, Ariz., Barbara (Gil) Kettelhut of Omaha, and Janis (Steve) Marlette of Valrico, Fla.
He was preceded in death by his mother, Phyllis; and nephew, Christopher Marlette.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be made to Lawton-Bronson High School, Hospice of Siouxland, or Redeemer Lutheran Church.