James Mathew "Jim" Urnes Sr
September 13, 1936 – June 13, 2024

James Mathew "Jim" Urnes Sr (a.k.a. "Gramps"), 87, of Bridgeton, Missouri, passed away peacefully on June 13, 2024, at home with his loving wife Lois by his side. He was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the second child of Ambjorn Mathew and Cora Jeanette (Edming) Urnes on September 13, 1936. He grew up in Minneapolis with his older sister Gretchen and his younger brother John and sister Karen. His father passed away when Jim was 9, and his mother raised the four children herself as a working single mother.

Even though finances were tight, Jim's childhood was a time which he recalled fondly all his life. He and his brother John had a great time growing up together, going to concerts at Lake Harriet, riding the Minneapolis streetcars, going to the Minnesota State Fair, working and living on the family farm in the summers, building model kites and airplanes from scratch and flying them, and on occasion, annoying their sisters. He had a lifelong love for the house that his mother raised them in and was overjoyed when his son Eric recently acquired the house and is living there now.

Jim had a passion for model airplanes and a gift for designing them and getting them to fly, so much so that fathers of other boys would bring their son's model airplanes to Jim for help in getting them to fly, even though Jim had no father of his own from which to get help.  He even built a small wind tunnel to test his airplane designs. He attended Clara Barton Elementary School and Washburn High School (class of 1954), where he developed a lifelong love of mathematics and an appreciation for learning.

He attended St. Olaf College for two years before transferring to the University of Minnesota, where he was able to apply his passion for designing aircraft by acquiring a master's degree in Aeronautical Engineering.  During his time at St. Olaf, he sang in the famous St. Olaf Choir and met Lois Mae Carter, his wife of almost 65 years (married August 22, 1959).

He went to college on the GI bill by joining the Air Force ROTC, so when he graduated with his master's, even though he already had two sons and a full-time job with Honeywell in Minneapolis, the Air Force said he had to go on active duty. He was assigned to Carswell AFB in Ft. Worth, Texas where he worked on the B-58 Hustler and B-52 Stratofortress bomber planes, and he was also one of the two officers in charge of entering the nuclear codes to arm the nuclear bombs. He also taught mathematics classes to other Air Force troops at the local Texas Lutheran College.

The Air Force wanted him to stay in as an officer, so they gave him a very nice assignment at the AFB at Weisbaden, Germany. He enjoyed this assignment in Germany immensely and traveled to different places in Europe almost every weekend. This instilled a lifelong love for travel and he and Lois travelled extensively, including Norway many times, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and almost all of the US. He also had a third son in Germany and acquired what would become his favorite car, a 1964 Volkswagen Beetle, that he had shipped back to the US and which he owned and maintained himself (plywood floorboards and all) for over 30 years.

Jim left the Air Force in 1964 and had intended to return to a job as an aerospace engineer at Honeywell, but instead took a job at McDonnell Aircraft in St. Louis, Missouri. He went on to work at McDonnell (which became McDonnell-Douglas and then Boeing) for over 50 years, finally retiring at the age of 78 in 2014. During this time, he would become a lead designer on the F/A-18 Hornet fighter plane. He was born to work on the Hornet, and he was never prouder and more excited than when he brought his family to see the first flight of the Hornet in 1978.  It is still considered one of the best fighter planes ever developed. He also worked on the F-4 Phantom, F-15 Eagle, the Space Shuttle, a propulsion-controlled system to land an airplane using only the engines after a total loss of controls, and he was awarded four patents.

One of his other passions was music. He loved to sing and was always singing an endless song. He also loved going to church, so when he and the family joined Shepherd of the Hills Church, he volunteered to be the church choir director. He went on to direct the choir for 57 years, the only choir director the church has ever had. He also loved singing in the Bach Society of St. Louis and in other community choirs.  Bach was his favorite composer, and he even created a costume of Bach with a wig in which he would entertain people with humorous impressions of Bach.

Even more than his passion for airplanes and music, his greatest love was his family.  He loved to spend time with his boys and later his grandchildren, building and flying model airplanes and rockets, illegally ice skating at Creve Coeur Lake, and celebrating Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, and other holidays with so many wonderful family traditions. But by far his favorite holiday was the 4th of July. He absolutely loved getting up on the morning of the 4th, going to buy fireworks and blasting fireworks all day long, then barbecuing and eating pork steaks, and then going with the whole family to watch the big fireworks show in Bridgeton.

He was preceded in death by his son James Jr. He is survived by his wife of almost 65 years, Lois, son Mark (Kara) and grandsons CJ and Cole of Port Angeles, WA., son Eric (Ronda) and grandson Jake and granddaughter Chloe of Minneapolis, Nancy (widow of James Jr) and granddaughters Abigail and Naomi of St. Louis, son Paul of St. Louis, son Joel (Shannon) and step-grandson Graham and granddaughter Eliza of St. Louis, as well as beloved sisters Gretchen and Karen (Jim), nieces, nephews, and dear friends.

Family and friends are welcome to attend a celebration of life, which will be held at Shepherd of the Hills Church on July 13, 2024, from 1:00-2:00 p.m.

Memorial donations can be made to Shepherd of the Hills, or a charity of your choice.

Ortmann Stipanovich Funeral Home   www.osfuneralhomes.com