of Mountain Home, AR

January 6, 1933 - August 20, 2023

James Edward "Jim" Shimp, 90, was born January 6, 1933 in Brooklyn, MS. and died August 20, 2023 in Mountain Home, AR. Jim began a lifetime affinity for the military while with his grandparents in Brooklyn in 1939. Six-year-old Jim gave free salted peanuts to bivouacked soldiers from nearby Camp Shelby, then sold them water. Thus he learned early to "adapt, improvise, and overcome".
During World War II, the family lived in Oregon and Washington. They moved after the war to Omaha, Nebraska where Jim was active in Boy Scouts, was on the Nebraska All-State team for 6-man football, and worked in the family's construction business.
At 19, Jim was a Corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves. He began his regular enlistment in 1953 at Camp Pendleton. Jim said he enjoyed boot camp where he "got to sleep later, didn't work as hard, and didn't get yelled at as much" as working construction. By age 20, he was a Drill Sergeant. He later served as an Embassy Guard in Djakarta, Indonesia, Intelligence Specialist, Infrared Aerial Photography Interpreter, and in combat. Jim was a veteran of the Korean and Vietnam Wars and retired from the Marine Corps in 1976 as a Gunnery Sergeant.
Jim believed and said without hesitation, ''There are no atheists in foxholes.'' In the 1970s, he taught Sunday school at West Coast Baptist Church in Vista, CA. He bussed Marines from base to church and back every Sunday and led the Men's Military Ministry.
In 1984, Jim married Donna Harden. Jim was a Motorcycle Safety Instructor in CA, and the brothers with their wives enjoyed motorcycling on Honda Goldwing all over the U.S. Jim spoke several languages. He was Charter President of the Optimist Club of Santee, CA, active in the VFW, and a founding member of the Mountain Home Chapter of Vietnam Veterans of America. Jim mentored several teens and young adults, coaching young men in everything from high school math to a wide range of construction knowledge.
With a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from University of Nebraska, Jim's second career was in project and facilities management for companies including Kaiser-Permanente, Marriott, Presbyterian Hospital-Dallas, Central Arizona College, and University of Arkansas-Monticello. During ''retirement'' he continued to do small construction jobs in the Mountain Home area.
At age 70, still an active biker, Jim met Ruth Goodin at a Honda motorcycle dealership in Heber Springs. They married in 2003.
Jim was kind, generous, unflappable, charming, fun loving, and had a nearly photographic memory. He is survived by his wife, Ruth Shimp of Morrilton; daughter Vicky Guardado (Alberto) of Phoenix; grandchildren Kimberley Jaimes (Manny) of San Diego, as well as Joseph and Alyssa (A.J.) Guardado of Phoenix; great granddaughters Annie and Ireland Jaimes of San Diego; brothers Larry DeBuse (Susan) of Bella Vista, AR., and Colin DeBuse (Wendy) of Bartlett, TN; sister Linda Vornheder (Eugene) of Mountain Home; and long-time friend Daryl Soukup of Branson, MO. as well as nieces, nephews, extended family, and friends. He was preceded in death by his mother Reba Lucile Prine DeBuse and stepfather, Delbert M. DeBuse, sister Chris Shimp Hadley, first wife Vincie Jo Glossip Shimp and son Joel Edward Shimp.
A Celebration of Life will be Saturday, September 9, 2023, 2 P.M. at First United Methodist Church of Mountain Home, 605 West 6th Street. The family thanks Hospice of the Ozarks for their compassionate care.

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