James Bridge Stevenson

SCOTTSDALE - On Oct. 20, 2022 at the age of 93 Jim went to sleep and failed to wake up. He often said that was the way he wanted to go, and often considered himself very blest by God in so many ways. He had it all worked out with the Lord and was ready to meet his Maker.
James Bridge Stevenson was born in Goldfield, Iowa on May 14, 1929. His loving parents were Frank W. Stevenson and Irene Bridge Stevenson. James was a member of the GHS class of 1947.
As an active youngster, his pony, bike and BB gun always kept him busy. He learned early that BB guns and street lights didn't go well together. His energy continued to bloom by being active in Boy Scouts and achieving his Eagle Scout award.
He graduated from Goldfield High School in 1947 and was quick to say that he graduated in the top 17 of his class, although there were only 17 in his class. He attended Iowa State College majoring in Animal Husbandry now called Animal Science. In 1950, between his junior and senior year, he married his high school sweetheart, Eileen Bernard of Eagle Grove, then finishing his college courses the next year while Eileen was teaching grade school in Ogden, Iowa. They then made their home on the family farm a mile north of Goldfield where they lived for 30 years until building a home in town.
From this union six sons were born. Jim thought he was on a winning streak. Although family, farming and livestock production occupied the majority of his time he was active in other areas including serving as a Boy Scout leader, PTA, Sunday School teacher and Church Elder, (of which he was very proud). His business activities included professional farm management and also actively participated in livestock organizations where he served as president of the Iowa Beef Producers Association, a director in the National Livestock and Meat Board, and as a director of the American National Cattlemen's Association.
Jim always found time for family. Attending school activities and participating in his sons' hobbies, eating most meals together and taking family trips together every summer. Traveling in a station wagon with no air conditioning, the family of eight each summer for two weeks visited states from coast to coast, traveled north to Canada, and drove all the way to southern Mexico and back.
Jim retired from farming in 1994 but had retained an active interest in the farming operation which sons David and Mark operated. Jim and Eileen had been wintering in Scottsdale, Arizona since the late 1970s, returning to the farm each spring. Hobbies such as foreign travel and art appreciation programs as well as many winter months spent in Arizona that has provided new knowledge, new friends and a continued interest in life's activities. In 2010, Jim and Eileen moved to Arizona full-time, where he spent everyday as if it were his last. In 2016, he wrote his autobiography, "What A Life - The Memories I Cherish," which became an instant best-seller... amongst his 47 descendants.
He leaves behind six sons, Don Bridge and wife Debra, David James and wife Rhonda, Mark Frank, John Lewis and wife Caliope, Brian Roy and wife Marile and Kurt Alan along with 14 grandchildren and 22 great grandchildren, along with a multitude of friends, even though some were Democrats, Jim would chuckle.
He was proceeded in death by his wife Eileen, parents Frank and Irene, sister Allis W. Curran and daughter-in-law Denise (Mark) Stevenson.
Services will be held at a later date. Visit hansenmortuary.com for online condolences.