James Ray "Jim" Kimber

1937 - 2024

James (Jim) Ray Kimber, 87, of Marion, Iowa, passed away peacefully in his sleep on October 12, 2024. A memorial service will take place at 2:00 PM on Friday, October 25th at St. Paul's United Methodist Church, 1340 Third Avenue SE in Cedar Rapids. Visitation will precede the service, at 1:30 PM. Jim is survived by his wife of 63 years, Joanne, their daughter Julia (Jeff) Simet, a son Jeffrey Kimber, and granddaughters Sarah and Amy Kimber. He is preceded in death by his parents Ray and Ruth (Dilley) Kimber and by his son John Kimber. Jim was born on June 13, 1937, in Battle Lake, MN and spent his childhood on a family farm there until he moved to Marion, Iowa for high school. He grew up with first cousins that were like brothers and sisters to him. Jim studied engineering at Iowa State University and then University of Iowa and moved to Cedar Rapids when he and Joanne married. He had a knack for fixing things, in an innovative way, which eventually led to a career that combined creativity with engineering. Jim was hired in 1961 by William McKenzie and eventually ran his design business and furniture dealership for many years. The "second half" of Jim's career was invested in growing the corporate furniture business for Smulekoff's in Cedar Rapids. He retired in 2001 to spend many adventurous years travelling with Joanne to visit family and friends and enjoy seeing new places across the US and around the world. Jim always appreciated the value of experiences and loved to plan family road trips to unique and special places. He would highlight every mile on the AAA triptik maps and tape them to the wall above the kitchen table so the whole family could look at them and talk about the much-anticipated route during dinner. He was particularly excited to take everyone to Disney World the year it opened, and of course to Minnesota! Jim's life was devoted to his family, to Iowa Hawkeye football, and also to his 60 year commitment as a member, officer, and volunteer at St. Paul's United Methodist Church in Cedar Rapids. Jim, along with Joanne, was a youth group counsellor throughout the 60s, and actively served on various committees, Study groups and event mission teams (supervised by Joanne) until he was no longer able. That community became a cherished group of friends and a lifelong purpose. Memorial donations may be directed in Jim's memory to St. Pauls UMC or Matthew 25 and sent to: St. Paul's United Methodist Church, 1340 Third Ave SE Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52403. Online condolences may be left for the family at cedarmemorial.com under obituaries.