James “Jim” “Jimmy” B. Beatty

James “Jim” “Jimmy” B. Beatty

Independence

James “Jim” “Jimmy” B. Beatty, 71, of Independence, Iowa, died on Thursday, July 28, 2022, at Unity Point–St. Luke’s Hospital in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Jim was born on Sept. 12, 1950, in Independence, Iowa, the son of Robert J. and Sharon L. (Doan) Beatty. In 1968, he graduated from Independence High School and received the Charles B. Andrew Award for his outstanding performance within the building trades program. After high school, Jim went on to serve proudly in the United States Navy during the time of the Vietnam War. He returned to the Independence area and worked for Mod Comp Homes in Independence, constructing prefabricated homes.

On June 12, 1971, Jimmy married Jean Evonne Fenner, at the Little Brown Church, Nashua, Iowa. They made their home in the Independence area and raised their sons, Chad and Travis.

Jim started his own construction company, J&J Construction Inc., in 1973. He worked for many years remodeling and constructing new homes along with constructing several light commercial projects throughout Northeast Iowa. While employing many talented carpenters and construction workers over almost four decades the company always had a family connection lending their own specialized skills to their numerous projects. Quality finish carpentry, organized general contracting, and using quality sub-contractors were always a staple for his business.

Jim was a lifelong farmer. As a child, he often helped with chores, planting, harvesting, and raising livestock on their family farm. Later in life, during the 1980s Jim purchased a small farm southeast of Independence and grained farmed for several years while also continuing to operate J & J Construction Inc. In 1992, Jim and Jean purchased a farm North of Independence on Otterville Boulevard, where they established their new home. There, he and his son Travis started a dairy operation in 1995, then continued to expand and evolve the operation by raising cattle, sheep and chickens, and grain farming several acres around the home farm. Jim never really retired as he was always part of the daily operations whether it was preparing the land, planting the crops, mowing or round bailing hay, and assuring all of the financial paperwork was accurate and organized.

Jim was an avid outdoorsman. He enjoyed horseback riding with friends and family, pheasant and quail hunting and even raised birds which he used to help train his German Shorthair hunting dogs. Conservation was important to Jim. For many years he was a member of the Wapsie Kennel Club and then evolved into serving as president and vice-president for the Buchanan County Wildlife Association for several years. Having an active role in hunter’s safety tTraining, Jim also enjoyed shooting skeet and sport clays at the Buchanan County Wildlife. Jim also enjoyed trips to Legacy Acres Hunting Club in Parnell, Iowa, with friends and family. Over the years he was proud to have helped raise money to help preserve many wildlife habitats and promote safe hunting practices in Buchanan County.

The most important thing to Jimmy was his family. He was proud to share his family history and kept family records and research their genealogy. He loved spending time with his grandchildren and attended every one of their activities he could get to while being their biggest fan. He loved to teach them everything he knew about farming, hunting and dog training. He called his grandchildren Brooke, Jake and Josh daily just to talk and check in to assure they were doing well.

He is survived by his two sons, Chad (Tricia) Beatty and Travis Beatty, both of Independence, Iowa; three grandchildren, Brooke, Jake and Josh Beatty; a stepfather, Don Roberts of Jesup, Iowa; and three sisters, Diane Beatty, Independence, Iowa, Denice Zieser, Quasqueton, Iowa, and Devin Shaw, Independence, Iowa; a brother, Bob Beatty, Independence, Iowa; several nieces and nephews; and a close friend, Kim Chesmore.

Jim was preceded in death by his wife, Jean Beatty; his mother, Sharon Roberts; his father, Robert J Beatty; father-in-law, Glenn Fenner; and mother-in-law, Fern Fenner.

A funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 1, 2022, at the Reiff Family Center in Independence, Iowa. Visitation will be held from 2 to 6 p.m. on Sunday, July 31, at the Reiff Family Center.

To leave an online condolence, please go to www.reifffamilycenter.com under obituaries.