James "Jim" Derold Wynne

James “Jim” Derold Wynne was born January 7, 1937, in Kimball, Nebraska, to Clarence and Alta (Houser) Wynne. He grew up on a ranch with three brothers and one sister and loved the county life and all of the animals and had a way about him that drew animals to him. From a very young age, Jim was always known as a hard worker. At age 11 or so he would peel potatoes in the morning because he wanted to work and make money. Jim also had a paper route when he was in junior high and during high school, bought his own equipment and started a mowing and snowplow service. Shortly after graduating from Kimball High School in 1955, Jim married and had a son, and continued to work hard for his family. But times were tough and after his second child was born, Jim sold everything and moved his young family to California in search of better opportunities.      Right away Jim got a job at a service station but did not give up the search for better work. He landed a job at Autonetics and worked his way up from entry level to engineer. Eventually the company was bought out by Rockwell International, where Jim continued to work for 16 years before he left the company and moved to Oregon. He earned his real estate license and became a contractor, building custom homes and creating subdivisions. When the economy crashed, Jim moved back to California to work for Rockwell again for another 10 years before returning to Oregon permanently in 1990.      There was literally nothing Jim could not do. He experienced more in his life time than most people will. He had a long list of hobbies which included camping, shooting, motorcycles (which he raced into young fatherhood), gold prospecting, hunting, fishing, snow skiing, and traveling and a lot more. Jim loved being outdoors and enjoying all that nature has to offer.      One of his most beloved hobbies was flying, so he earned his pilot’s license and partnered with a few partners for an interest or a small airplane, which Jim maintained, being the mechanic that he was. Jim seized every opportunity to fly, even if it was to breakfast in a city too far to drive. He also flew cross country and internationally.      Jim was incredibly intelligent, detail oriented and driven; tackling anything he set his mind to. He loved to help people, especially if he could teach them how to fix things themselves. There was nothing Jim could not fix. He loved his family deeply and would do anything for them. He was a people person and loved to socialize, making many good friends throughout his life. He possessed a hilarious and witty orneriness that was exclusively Jim. He loved to play pranks on people, even as a young child. Once as a youngster, he captured a bunch of baby skunks and sold them to the neighborhood kids as special “Stripped German kitties”. He also got even with a coworker named “Slim” by wiring the battery to a chair to deliver a shock to ol’ Slim the next time he landed in the chair. Although he kept everyone on their toes, he also kept them very entertained.      When Jim left this world on August 8, 2021, he did so with no regrets, and nothing left undone. He lived larger than life and packed an incredible amount of life into his 84 years. He was preceded in death by his parents Clarence and Alta; his children Richard “Jami” Wynne and Donna Wynne; three brothers and one sister; and one great-granddaughter. Jim is survived by his children Derold Wynne and Debi Wynne; seven grandchildren; and 21 great-grandchildren. Funeral service for Jim Wynne is August 13 at 10:30 am at Weddle Funeral Service, livestream link: https://my.gather.app/remember/jim-wynne