Jim was born in Thomas, Okla., to William and Anna Lee Mathis on October 26, 1938, and lost his courageous battle with cancer on May 21, 2020.
Following high school and some college, where he studied engineering, Jim joined the United States Army Reserve. He served in the USAR for six years, ending his enlistment in Oregon where he had moved in 1960.
While in Oregon, he met his future wife, Sally Ca…