Jim Henry Ledbetter Jr.

1928 - 2019

JIM HENRY LEDBETTER, JR.
January 31, 1928 - July 15, 2019

Our dad passed away at age 91 1/2. He was born in West Palm Beach, Florida to Jim Henry and Bess Smith Ledbetter, the oldest of 3 boys.

He was a kind and caring dad and a good provider. As a child of the depression dad learned about hard work at an early age, acquiring a driver's license delivering newspapers at 12. From Florida the family moved to Tennessee, then to Texas and finally on to Bakersfield, California where he finished his senior year of high school.

In 1948, he met and married our mother, Marilyn Stotler, and went to work for Piute Packing Company, first as a butcher, then plant supervisor. When the plant closed, he took part ownership in a small business with his father and kept it going successfully for many years until his retirement. One of his favorite hobbies was working with wood, which turned into a second job, building custom cabinetry. He was a fine cabinet maker. In 1993, dad retired, remarried and moved to Mad River, California. Dad enjoyed traveling but more than that he loved to fish.

Jim was preceded in death by his parents, Jim and Bess Ledbetter, brother Raymond (Joe) Ledbetter and first wife Marilyn Ledbetter. He leaves behind his wife Cathy and her children, daughters Kathleen Rhodes (Dennis), Ivins, Utah, Becky Arguedas, Bakersfield and his two grandchildren, Christopher Stayton, Oregon and Tracee Rhodes, District of Columbia, and a brother, William Ledbetter, Missouri.

Private services will be held in Mad River.