James "Jim" M. Powers

Jim left us on Monday, May 11, 2026, in a beautifully quiet way.

He was born at St. Luke's Hospital in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on February 19, 1942. He attended kindergarten in Vinton, first grade at Buchanan School, second and third grade at Arthur Elementary, fourth through eleventh grades at Orange Township near Waterloo, and his senior year at Washington High School in Cedar Rapids. He attended the University of Iowa where he was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity and where he received his BA and JD degrees. Upon graduating he joined the National Guard and the law firm of Sargent, Spangler, Hines and Pence, which later became Hines, Pence, Day and Powers. Many years later he had his own firm of Powers and Beard which was located in the Averill House.

Jim's first experiences of working were on a farm across the highway from his home in Waterloo. The school bus picked him up at the farm where he did the morning chores and delivered him back to the farm where he did the evening chores. Those chores included mowing the yard, bringing in the cows from the pasture for milking, digging thistles and pulling button weeds in the cornfield or whatever odd jobs cropped up. It was during those years he developed his love of farm work and farm animals. It was not until he was fifty that he decided to take riding lessons and start jumping horses in competition. His jumping continued until he fell off and broke his collarbone at age 71.

Jim married Patty Hull on November 23, 1966, and enjoyed almost sixty years of marriage. During this time, they welcomed a daughter, a son, a son-in-law, and a grandchild.

Together, Jim and Patty enjoyed traveling and spending time at their place on Lake Delhi and at a condo in Florida. Jim loved fishing in Canada. He enjoyed training and competing in dog trials and horse competitions, attending Liar's Club, and rooting for the Iowa Hawkeyes at basketball and football games. He was an active community member who participated on church committees and held membership in various community groups.

In September of 2020 Jim had a stroke which left him unable to walk and with speech difficulties. He accepted those problems gracefully, never complaining, and continued to look forward in life. In 2023 after forty-six years in their house Jim asked Patty to move to the Meth-Wick Community. It was a wonderful move and he loved it there, especially his men's coffee group. Recently he told one of his best friends, "I have had a good life and have accomplished all that I wanted."

Jim's visitation will take place at 12 p.m. on Saturday, May 30, 2026, at First Presbyterian Church, 310 5th Street SE in Cedar Rapids with a service to follow at 1:30 p.m. at the church. Interment will immediately follow the service at Cedar Memorial Cemetery in Cedar Rapids.

Jim was preceded in death by his father and mother, John and Ethel Powers; his father and mother-in-law, Bill and Mary Hull; his brother, Garth Powers; and his son, Stuart Powers.

The family wants to thank all the staff at the Woodlands for their exceptional care of Jim for the last month.

Memorial gifts can be given to Miracles in Motion (therapeutic horse rides for disabled children) 2049 120th Street NW, Swisher, Iowa, Meth-Wick Community, 1224 13th Street NW, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and First Presbyterian Church.

It was mentioned in the first obituary on May 17 that there would be a surprise on funeral day.

This surprise stems from the fact that ever since Jim's stroke in 2020 he has told his doctors, nurses, friends, strangers and family that he wants to get back on a horse again. That never happened so it is planned for his own horse Remington (Remi) to carry his cremated remains from the entrance of Cedar Memorial to the grave site. That will give him his last ride on a horse.