James "Jim" Monroe Overby

James "Jim" Monroe Overby, 84, of Bernie died Sunday, April 12, 2015, at the Saxony Lutheran Village in Cape Girardeau, Mo., with his family at his side.

He was born July 2, 1930, in Eagle Grove, Iowa, the son of the Rev. James M. and Minnie Belle Sutton Overby. He and Joyce Petty were married May 6, 1952, in Cape Girardeau, Mo., by the Rev. Overby at Maple Avenue Methodist Church.

As the son of a Methodist minister, Jim grew up living in a number of communities, including What Cheer, Iowa; Fort Branch, Francisco and Winslow, Ind., Henderson, Ky., Ava, Van Buren, Cabool and Cape Girardeau, Mo.

During his elementary school years, he attended schools in five different communities.

He was a graduate of Cabool High School and attended Southeast Missouri State Teachers College where he met his beloved wife in Dr. A.C. Magill's chemistry class where students were seated alphabetically (Overby-Petty).

He joined the U.S. Air Force in 1950 during the Korean Conflict, and was honorably discharged in 1954. For the most of his tour of duty, he served at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas, Nev., where he was a flight mechanic.

Jim worked in sales and finance management in the automobile and insurance industry for many years, including more than 15 years at Rowe Ford Sales in Malden, Mo. He was a member of the Bernie United Methodist Church, where he sang in the choir for more than 60 years, served in a variety of leadership roles and on numerous other church committees at the local and regional level. For many years, he was a volunteer in Bernie with the Meals on Wheels program. He was a member of the American Legion in Malden. He loved sports and actively supported the Bernie High School Mules and the University of Missouri Tigers. He served for 25 years as the official time keeper for Bernie basketball, and seldom missed any athletic, music, or cultural events where any one of his four daughters or grandchildren were participating. His greatest joy in life was spending time with his family and he also enjoyed traveling and in his latter years visited Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Hawaii, the New England states, and he visited the presidential libraries for Presidents Eisenhower, Johnson, Clinton, Truman and Kennedy.

Loving survivors include his wife of almost 63 years; four daughters and their spouses, Diane Sides of Jackson; Cathy and Scott Kight of Jackson; Karen and Glenn Green of St. Louis; and, Lisa and Terry Langley of Springfield, Mo.; nine grandchildren and five great-grandchildren: Laura Sides (Matt) Cooper and son Bennett, of Ballwin, Mo.; Ryan (Jennifer) Sides of Mehlville, Mo.; Travis (Jamie) Green and son Tyler of Benton, Mo.; Erik (Jennie) Green of Fenton, Mo., Drew Green and son Jayden of Fenton, Mo.; Erica Kight (Dave) Sander and children Emily and Kyle of Jackson, Mo.; Chad Kight of Cape Girardeau; and Olivia and Caroline Langley of Springfield, Mo.

He was preceded in death by a grandson, Vincent Kight; two brothers, John Vernon "Pete" and Tom Overby; three sisters, Eunice Catherine Overby, Margaret Emily Overby and Mary Martha Overby Preston.

Visitation will be held from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, April 14, 2015, at the Bernie United Methodist Church. The funeral is scheduled for Thursday, April 16, 2015, at 11:30 a.m. at the Bernie United Methodist Church, with the Reverends Susan Marner-Sides and Ron Dunnavin officiating. Interment will follow in the Missouri Veterans Cemetery in Bloomfield with full military honors.

The family requests that memorials may be made to the Bernie United Methodist Church, the Joyce Petty Overby Scholarship Fund at Bernie High School, the Alzheimers Foundation, or the James M. and Joyce Petty Overby Family Scholarship at the Southeast Missouri University Foundation.

All arrangements are under the direction of the Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter, Mo.