The year was 1947. It was June 22nd at 7:05am this world welcomed the heart and soul of James (Jim) Clotworthy. He was the first child born to Marge and Walt Clotworthy in the small town of Longmont, Colorado. Jim would become a big brother to brother Bob and sister Annell. They would be lifelong friends.
The family later moved to western Colorado and lived in Ridgeway until Jim’s senior year of high school when they moved to Leadville, Colorado. The Clotworthy’s would live in Leadville at the Escondido Rancho for many decades to come. In 1968, Jim received his Associates of Science degree from Mesa Jr. College. He went on to Colorado State University and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree majoring in Vocational Agriculture in 1971. He was a member of Alpha Tau Alpha and participated in intramural sports.
His earlier hobbies included hunting, fishing, foraging, blacksmithing and horseback riding. During retirement, Jim added cooking and advanced home gardening to his repertoire. He also became a member of the Single Action Shooting Society. Jim grew the biggest sunflowers and could easily spend two days on one complicated recipe and not lose his place. His recipe outcomes were as impressive as his 18” headed sunflowers!
Through the years, Jim became a skilled cowboy at the Escondido. He also worked as a truck driver, equipment operator at Northern Coal Company and in sales. Sales would ultimately become his career passion. He was an exceptional salesman! His sales career would take hold while he lived in Craig, Colorado at H&J Supply Co. It would be work for H&J Supply that would ultimately take him to Price, Utah. In Price, he had a lucrative career with Fairmount Supply (formerly H&J Supply), and Waste & Water Logistics. Through both employers, he would make lasting friendships.
In 1977, he welcomed his daughter Nicole into the world and the two would go on to share an unbreakable bond even across the miles. Later in life, Jim would welcome a stepdaughter, Jenafer, into his heart and would love her like his own.
Jim loved to help others. He always had an odd job or task for anybody who needed to earn a paycheck. He believed a stranger was just a friend he hadn’t met yet and could talk the leg off a horse. Jim was the greatest storyteller and was never short on words. His sense of humor was contagious. He was incredibly kind, generous, and smart. He taught each person he met a lesson they could carry with them and believed in getting to the root of a problem. Rooting the depths of topics like bereavement and encouraging others through weekly Zoom sessions. He touched the lives of many whose worlds had been torn apart by the loss of a loved one. He was the epitome of being non-judgmental. He listened with his heart and spoke from his soul.
On Saturday, April 8th, Jim passed away at his home in Price, Utah surrounded by loved ones. He was preceded in death by his parents, Marge and Walt Clotworthy of Colorado. Survived by his special friend Shalee Johansen (Mi Amore), Aunt Jo-Ellen McKinney, his brother Robert (Bob) Clotworthy and sister-in-law Sherrie, his sister Annell Reynolds and brother-in-law Dennis, his daughter Nicole Rodela, son-in-law Ryan and his granddaughter Ayanna, stepdaughter Jenafer Fairgrieve and husband Bill along with their children, Shelby, Christopher, Anna, Billy, Caroline, and Allison. Jim is also survived by his four-legged companion Reaha and many more nieces, nephews, and cousins.
Jim was one of a kind. He was a phenomenal human being, but most of all, he was my Dad and what an amazing father he was and he will always be in my heart. Please join me, our family, and our friends in honoring the man, the myth the legend; Jim Clotworthy on Friday, May 12th at 2pm at the Greenwell Inn Convention Room in Price, Utah.