James "Jim" B. Moody

April 25, 1926 - December 24, 2020

James "Jim" Moody, age 94, of Storm Lake, Iowa died on Thursday, December 24, 2020 at the Buena Vista Regional Medical Center in Storm Lake. Private family services will be held on Saturday, January 2, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. at the Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake. To watch the live stream of the service, please click the link- https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83970112046?pwd=MUYyMGJ6TW54T2VPREZyM0EyYm5UUT09 and enter the password: funeral. Burial will take place in the Memorial Park Cemetery in Sioux City. Masks are required for family in attendance. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be given to the family of Jim Moody. The Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake is in charge of the arrangements. James Bernard Moody was born April 25, 1926 to Lee and Gertrude (Arnoldi) Moody in Lamberton, Minnesota. The family moved to Sioux City when Jim was four and a half years old. Jim received his education in the Sioux City schools. After high school he enlisted in the U.S. Navy during WWII where he served for twenty-six months as a medical corpsman. While in the Navy he took the course of study in neuropsychology which qualified him to be an assistant for a psychiatrist. Following his Navy duty, he attended and graduated from Morningside College in 1950 with a teaching degree. His first teaching job was in Clarinda, IA for two years. Then he taught High School Speech and Drama for thirty-five years in Storm Lake, Iowa, retiring in 1988. He was honored to be selected as a member of the Iowa High School Speech Association Hall of Fame. Jim enjoyed being a certified lay speaker at United Methodist churches in Northwest Iowa. Jim loved music. He loved playing the fiddle and harmonica for various retirement homes in Storm Lake. He also taught himself to whistle every tune he knew. Jim didn’t retire in full! He had a couple part-time jobs. For over 20 years he worked part-time at Merrill Manufacturing Co. and also worked for Mello-Dent Company as a foreman and bus driver for detasslers for over 20 years. In 1964, he married Carmen Smith. He was very proud of his five daughters. He had three daughters from an earlier marriage, Cheryl, Diane and Cynthia all who live in Sacramento, CA area. His two daughters with Carmen are Beth of Deerfield, IL and Trudy of Sioux City. Jim is survived by his wife of 56 years, Carmen; daughters: Beth (Scott) Mercola, Trudy (Christopher) Rants, Cheryl (Gary Muck) Moody, Diane (Kenneth) Tucker, and Cynthia Moody; eight grandchildren: Jack (Michael Sepulvada) Mercola, Dana Mercola, Grace (Jay) Welp, Katharine Rants, Ashley Tatum, Courtney Tatum, Jenny (Justin) Child, and Nina Mosell; four great-grandchildren: Benjamin Child, Zachary Child, Brody Tatum, and Jayde Tatum; sister-in-law, Janice (Duane) Goff; brothers-in-law, Howard Smith and Ronald (Anne) Smith; several nieces and nephews. Jim was preceded in death by his parents; sister, Margie (Don) Shoemaker; parents-in-law, Orville and Alma Smith; and sister-in-law, Verna Smith. A public Celebration of Life Service will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be given to the family of Jim Moody.