MUSCATINE, Iowa – Jim Sturms, 92, passed away on Saturday, December 2, 2023, at Wilton Retirement Community.

Funeral Service will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, December 8, 2023, at Wesley United Methodist Church. Pastor Kayla Lange-Carney will officiate. Burial will be in Memorial Park Cemetery.

Visitation will be held from 4 p.m. until 7 p.m. on Thursday, December 7, 2023, at the Ralph J. Wittich-Riley-Freers Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the family for a scholarship that will be set up in Jim’s honor at Muscatine High School. Online condolences may be made at www.wittichfuneralhome.com.

Jim was born on July 31, 1931, in Muscatine, the son of James Clinton and Elma Hazel Stock Sturms. He married Barbara Rose Beckett on June 11, 1960, in Naushua, Iowa at the Little Brown Church in the Vale. They were married for 63 years.

Jim spent his first 17 years in and out of the University of Iowa Hospital. Although he was faced with many challenges, he never let them define him. Some of his most cherished honors were when he was named Handicapped Iowan of the year in 1975, and when he was inducted into the Muscatine High School Hall of Honor in 2005. Jim spent over seven decades serving wherever he lived on community boards, trustees, at the local, state, national and international levels.

Jim was the instigator of raising funds and constructing 3 new YMCA’s in Marshalltown, Burlington, and returning to his hometown of Muscatine in 1986.

Jim was a 1951 graduate of Muscatine High School and earned his AA degree from Muscatine Junior College. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from Iowa Wesleyan University where he received his business administration degree. Jim received his certification as YMCA Director from George Williams College in 1958. Jim was also a member of the YMCA organization and served over 42 years of service at the YMCA as an Executive Director.

Jim was a member of Rotary International for 65 years and a member of the 33 club. He was a member of the Wesley United Methodist Church. Jim was an avid Chicago Cubs and Bears fan.

Jim is survived by his wife, Barbara Rose Sturms; children, Jay Sturms and his fiancé, Deb, Kyle Sturms and Becky Wichers and her husband, Joel; grandchildren: Christine, Curtis, Kayla, Jenna, Drake, Drew and Luke; great grandchildren, Camden, Weston, Josephine, Drayton, Kaydence and Rhett; sister, Jean Haller; and many nieces and nephews.

He is preceded in death by his parents; brother, Donald Sturms and his wife, Ruth; daughter-in-law, Joanie Sturms; and brother-in-law, Fred ‘Gumps’ Haller.