James Cyril Linford

1944 - 2025

James Cyril Linford, 80, of Loudon, Tennessee, died on August 1, 2025, as the result of a stroke in a Knoxville, Tennessee, hospital.

Jim was born on October 4, 1944, in Logan, Utah, to Mary Gaddie and Cyril A. Linford. Along with his four sisters, he grew up on the family farm in Garland, Utah. Jim wrote, "I worked alongside my father milking cows hoeing sugar beets, bucking bales of hay, raising turkeys, loading boxcars and working in the sugar bins at the sugar factory. It wasn't always easy work, but those were good days."

Jim attended school in Garland, Utah, and in 1962 he graduated from Bear River High School. In 1963, he married Marianne Matney in Tremonton, Utah. Holly, Michael and Richard were born to Jim and Marianne over the next five years. While still in college, Jim passed the CPA Exam and in 1967 and 1968, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Business Administration degree from Utah State University.

Jim began his career in Los Angeles, California, working for the CPA firm of Arthur Anderson & Company, where he obtained his Certified Public Accounting Certificate. He eventually became the Controller for Jacobs Engineering Groups Inc. in both Pasadena, California, and Houston, Texas.

Jim and his family lived in the Southern California towns of Glendale and Valencia, enjoying California's climate, beaches and the Dodgers.

In 1980, Jim and his family moved to Lake Jackson, Texas, where he joined Gulf States Inc. as their Corporate Controller. Gulf States was a national industrial construction company, headquartered in Freeport, Texas, employing more than 1,500 people. Jim watched Gulf States grow to be one of the largest of its kind of company in the United States.

In 1981, Jim was named Financial Vice President of Gulf States and in 1990 he was elected President. Jim eventually bought out his partners and became the sole owner of Gulf States. In 1999, Jim sold Gulf States and retired.

Over the years, Jim had the opportunity to serve on the board of directors of many community service organizations, including the United Way, Junior Achievement and Chamber of Commerce. He also served on state and national professional boards as related to the construction industry. He was a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the California Society of Public Accountants.

Jim and Marianne owned and maintained Marianne's family home in Tremonton, Utah, and remained active in their hometowns of Tremonton and Garland, Utah, after retirement. Jim was especially proud of their participation in Box Elder County's Junior Livestock Auction, and of helping the City of Tremonton procure the land on which the Midland Square was built.

In 2002 he honored his Bear River High School Class of 1962, by bringing Bobby Vee to perform at their 40th class reunion.

Jim received many awards and recognition for his contributions to the Bear River Valley in Utah, including Bear River High School's Distinguished Alumni Award and Garland City's Centennial Award during the town's centennial celebration in 2004.

Jim enjoyed owning a Bear River Valley farm in Northern Utah, which gave him the opportunity to visit with the local farmers and reminisce about his family. Jim was always proud of his heritage that linked him to Utah. He was a descendant of members of the Willie Handcart Company, a well-known group of Latter Day Saints immigrating to Utah in 1856.

Several years after he retired, Jim and Marianne divorced and he married Deana Walthers. They lived in Texas, Arizona and Tennessee.

Jim is survived by his wife Deana; sons Michael Linford and Richard Linford; grandchildren Amanda Linford, Jacob (Karissa) Linford, Sophie Linford, Matthew Linford, Joseph Linford and his great-granddaughter, Sutton Kay Linford.

Survivors also include his sisters Mary Lee (Dean) Anderson and Susan Croft; his former wife Marianne Matney Valenta, and many nieces and nephews.

Jim is further survived by Deana's family; stepdaughter Bonnie (Allen) Barnard and step-grandsons Logan Atwell, Aiden Mayberry and Maddox Barnard.

Jim is preceded in death by his daughter Holly Linford, his parents, his sisters Julie Linford and Sally Kramer, his stepson Benjamin Walthers and his step-grandson Tristan Mayberry.

The last few years of Jim's life were spent in Loudon, Tennessee, where he was living with his wife at the time of his death.