James Edward Price

Our beloved Dad, Papa, father-in-law, brother, uncle and friend, James “Jim” Edward Price, age 83, of Gering, Nebraska, passed away on Sunday, June 14, 2026, surrounded by family and the caring staff at the Morrill County Community Hospital in Bridgeport, Nebraska. His funeral service will be held at 10 a.m., Monday, June 29, 2026, at Reverence Funeral Parlor in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, with Pastor Gary Hashley officiating. Burial will follow at West Lawn Cemetery in Gering. Visitation will take place from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday, June 28, 2026, at Reverence Funeral Parlor. Memorials may be made in care of The Legacy of the Plains Museum. The service will be livestreamed and recorded on Jim’s obituary page viewable at www.reverencefuneralparlor.com.

Jim was born on April 18, 1943, in Rushville, Nebraska, the middle of five children to James Bartlett and Viola Dorothy (Ewing) Price. He loved the rural and ranch life in Sheridan County, spending most of his childhood around cattle and horses. “Jimmy” attended Hay Springs Public Schools; participating on his high school FFA livestock judging team and serving as an officer. According to his senior high school yearbook, Jimmy Price had already wrecked his car twice; and you could always find him wherever fun was found, because his laugh would be the loudest one around.

Jim married Eva Mae King of Rushville on May 29, 1964, at the United Methodist Church in Rushville. The two remained married until 1985. They made their home in Chadron where their first daughter, Pamela Mae, was born in 1965. Jim worked for the State of Nebraska as a Game and Park Management employee (1964-1969) and was transferred to the Lake Minatare State Recreation Area to serve as its first official game warden. The Price family made their first home in Scotts Bluff County near Lake Minatare’s landmark lighthouse. His second daughter, Jody Lynne was born in 1968, before the family moved to their home on the north side of Lake Minatare across the road from the North Platte Valley Boat Club. In 1970 until his retirement in 2008, Jim was a heavy equipment operator and foreman for the Scotts Bluff County Roads Department based at the Minatare shop. His identical twin daughters, Sandra Kae and Shelley Rae, were born in 1971.

During his daughters’ school years at Lake Minatare and Minatare, Jim was actively involved in all their Fairview 50 4-H livestock projects and sporting events. He served as the twins’ assistant softball coach and never missed a single game, event, or award ceremony. Jim loved his grandchildren and later in life prioritized attending their activities too. Jim loved playing billiards and was good at it! He was a member of the Elks, Eagles, and Moose Lodges, the American Legion, NRA, and the American Quarter Horse Association. The “Silver Fox” knew every nook and cranny of every gravel road in Scotts Bluff County. He was an avid coyote and deer hunter. His passions included raising and studying the bloodlines/pedigrees of quarter and thoroughbred horses. Jim’s bucket list adventures included attending the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, the All-American Futurity in Ruidoso, New Mexico, and the Kentucky Derby in Louisville, Kentucky.

Jim enjoyed the simple pleasures of life and seemed to know or easily make friends wherever he went. He loved celebrating birthdays and spending holidays with family. No road was too long or snow packed for him to try! Soon after retiring from the county highway department, Jim moved to Billings, Montana, to live with his daughter Jody’s family from 2010-2014. He loved attending the monthly horse sales at Billings Livestock Commission, annual rodeos in Red Lodge, frequenting garage and estate sales, and the general cowboy way of life Montana had to offer. Jim moved back to Nebraska and became a member of the Calvary Memorial Church in Gering. He spent the last ten years living in Morrill and Gering near family.

Survivors include his daughters, Pam (Doug) Engstrom of Gering, Jody (Mike) Lamp of Ashland, NE, Sandy (Troy) Votruba, and Shelley (Jeff) Hoff of Wheatland, WY; grandchildren, Garett (Aubrey) Burkey, Colter (Jordan Houston) Burkey, Charity (Mark) Leppert, Jacob (Savanna) Engstrom, Mark Lamp, Jessie Lamp, Kaetlin (Zach) Wallace, and Kaden (Teagan Abts) Bradley; twelve great-grandchildren; and sister, Norma Jean Sloate.

He was preceded in death by his parents, James and Viola Price; brother, David Melvin Price; and sisters, Dorothy Louise Rundall and Virginia Ann Shuemaker.