Avis de décès de James-C. Peters - Nécrologie - MesAieux.com

Funeral services for James C. "Jim" Peters, 84, West Plains, will be at 10:00 a.m. Friday, December 5, 2008, in First United Methodist Church, under the direction of Robertson-Drago Funeral Home, West Plains. Mr. Peters passed away at 2:45 p.m. Monday, December 1, 2008, in NHC HealthCare, in West Plains, Missouri. He was born June 14, 1924, in Nevada, Mo., to James and Florence Peters. After losing his father at the age of nine, Jim and his family lived in several towns in Kansas and Arkansas, moving where his mother found opportunities to work. Later in life, this gave Jim the excuse to attend numerous class reunions, which he enjoyed greatly. Jim served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, first as an aerial navigator and later in naval intelligence on the Island of Guam. After his discharge from the Navy in 1949, he enrolled at Drury College in Springfield, where he played basketball; among his teammates was West Plains native Bill Virdon. At Drury, Jim met the love of his life, fellow student Nell Curtis. The two were married in 1951, and the family was blessed with a son, Jim, and daughter, Sherry. After graduation from Drury, Jim began the first of two successful careers. His first career was that of a high school educator and basketball coach, beginning in Halfway, Mo., then Mountain Home, Ark., and finally in West Plains, Mo., for nine wonderful years. Jim's Zizzer basketball teams amassed a career record of 231-46, a winning percentage of over 80%. Highlights along the way included five straight state championship playoffs, a home winning streak of 72 straight games, winning 52 of 53 games between 1959 and 1961, coaching seven All-State players (five from West Plains) and contributing 13 players to college programs. As a result, Jim was inducted into the Missouri Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame in 2000. Jim's second career began in 1961, when he became the West Plains area's first full-time State Farm Insurance agent. It was a position he held for 40 years, until retiring in 2001. Through both his coaching and insurance careers, hundreds of long-lasting relationships were created and were a valued part of Jim's life. Community involvement included Jim's appointment to the Southwest Missouri State University Board of Regents, as its first representative of the West Plains Residence Center, now known as Missouri State University-West Plains; he served the board as vice-president. A long time member of the Kiwanis Club, Jim served as the District's Lieutenant-Governor and spent many happy hours serving hamburgers, flipping pancakes and selling peanuts along with fellow members. His hobbies included hunting, fishing and horses, all of which were pursued with passion. Jim geninely enjoyed his membership and participation in the Pioneer Saddle Club. He was a member of the First United Methodist Church in West Plains. Jim Peters is survived by his wife of 57 years, Nell Peters; son Jim and wife, Beth of West Plains; and daughter Sherry Underwood of Springfield. Also surviving are three grandchildren, Andrew Peters of West Plains, Julie Gower and husband, Jeffrey of Springfield, and Courtney Jensen and husband, Tom of Kansas City; and three great-grandchildren, Ella Grace Gower, and Audrey and Hunter Jensen. His parents, brother, sister and one grandchild preceded him in death. Visitation will be Thursday, December 4, from 6 until 8 p.m., in Robertson-Drago Funeral Home. Burial will be in Oak Lawn Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to the Jim and Nell Peters Endowed Scholarship at MSU-West Plains or the West Plains R-7 Educational Foundation and may be mailed to Robertson-Drago Funeral Home, 211 West Main, West Plains, MO 65775.