Webb, James E. 1928-2014

WEBB, PICKERING, CROOKS, BYERS, PAUL, DAVIS, FOX, GUPTA, WORLEY, HAINES, TURNEY, NORRIS

Posted By: Marilyn Norris Holmes
Date: 2/3/2014 at 10:11:18

Smith Funeral Home; Grinnell, Iowa

JAMES E. WEBB

James E. "Jim" Webb, age 85, of Gilman, died on Wednesday, January 30, 2014, at St. Francis Manor in Grinnell.

A funeral service will be held 2:00 p.m., Monday, February 3, 2014, at the Smith Funeral Home, with the Rev. John Epperson officiating. Interment will be in Hazelwood Cemetery in Grinnell.

Visitation will be held one hour prior to his service on Monday at the funeral home.

Memorials may be designated to Grinnell Regional Hospice and/or to Wounded Warrior Project, mailed in care of the Smith Funeral Home, PO Box 368, Grinnell, Iowa 50112.

Jim was born the son of James Garfield Webb and Hazel (Pickering) Webb on September 17, 1928, in Grinnell. Following his parents' divorce, his mom married Allen E. crooks. Allen was a devoted stepfather until his death in September, 1949.

Jim attended Grinnell's Davis School and Junior High through 7th grade. His dad, a track inspector for the Rock Island Railroad, was transferred to West Liberty, IA. The University of Iowa being just 15 miles away, he enjoyed many football games with Granddad Crooks. He later enrolled in college there. Jim was a devoted Iowa Hawkeye fan for the rest of his life. For a time they lived in Brooklyn, Iowa, returning to Grinnell in the summer of '43. Jim graduated from Grinnell High in 1945.

Jim proudly served his country as a veteran of two wars; the Army of Occupation in Korea as part of WWII and the Korean War. Returning home, Jim worked many years at The Grinnell Herald Register. He retired from Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance in 1990.

Jim married Mary (Lou) Byers June 10, 1956. To this union was born Gregory Scott Webb. Lou died of cancer in 1974. On February 4, 1977, Jim married Betty Paul Davis in Grinnell.

Jim enjoyed a game of golf. He was a great story teller, writer, and avid reader with a library of over 3000 books. He enjoyed gatherings of an afternoon with his buddies and having a late breakfast at his two favorite small town cafes.

He will be missed by his wife of 37 years, Betty Webb of Gilman; son Greg (Gina Fox); stepdaughters Whitney Davis, Sherry Gupta (Atul); grandchildren Erika and Ariel Worley, Yash, Shabana and Nitin Gupta; and many friends.

He was preceded in death by wife Lou; mother Hazel Crooks; father Allen Crooks; father James Webb; grandparents Jesse Crooks, Charley and Flossie Haines Pickering; aunts Marie (Roscoe) Turney and Sina (Fred) Norris.