James Gordon Pruitt

Jim Pruitt, 88, passed away July 5, 2024 in Temple, TX. He was born in Marshall, TX on February 26, 1935. Growing up, he was content spending long hours on Caddo Lake fishing and just paddling around exploring. By the time he was about 12, he knew every inch of the lake.

Jim's dad passed away when Jim was around 15 years old so Jim went to live with his grandparents. He had wonderful memories of hanging out in his Grandpa's store and his Grandma's chicken business. During these years he developed an intense dislike of sauerkraut because he could constantly smell the neighbors making it.

Jim attended the University of Texas El Paso after high school. He majored in electrical engineering while participating in a work program with Shellenger. One of his assignments was working on rocketry in Point Barrow, Alaska. Upon graduation he took classes, then went to work for Applied Research Labs in Austin. At ARL he worked through The University of Texas as a civilian contractor for the United States Navy. He invented, designed, tested, and calibrated sonars, using Lake Travis as his "lab." During his career he was sent by the Navy to naval bases in the Pacific, Guam, Turkey and Ascencion Island. He also spent time at Chincoteague in the U.S. repairing and recalibrating existing mine-hunting sonar on Navy ships.

Jim has been described by his fellow workers as a bit of an enigma. He talked with an East Texas accent, but he had the patience and concentration of a farmer which he applied to electronic design with a thoroughness not seen in most engineers. He even had his own special way of making technical drawings which were much easier to understand than those submitted by other engineers; and they were usually much bigger as well! He was seen by his associates as being an absolutely honest person and one with a dry, quick sense of humor.

Jim met his wife Nancy at Sierra Club meetings and they were married in 1970.They took many trips into Mexico, often camping in remote areas that they could access in their jeep. Jim was always the one to spot the less-travelled trails, and they were able to find many unusual birds. They made many of these trips with avid bird watchers; Nancy would make sketches and field notes to help remember details for her paintings of the birds when they returned home.

Upon retirement, Jim was able to spend his time on his love of John Deere tractors. He accumulated four antique tractors which he restored, breathing new life into them with his tools, paint and decals. He spent countless hours working with Temple's Early Day Tractor Club. He loved to spend time repairing the equipment they had on their grounds, including resurrecting a heap of slats that was an old Dempsty Windmill. It still stands, reassembled, on the tractor club's grounds.

Jim was able to spend his last years with an alert mind, and loved to sit and tell stories of his interesting, fulfilling life. He was truly one of a kind, and will be sorely missed! He is survived by his wife Nancy.

A graveside service will be held at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 11, 2024 at Cook-Walden/Capital Parks Cemetery in Pflugerville.

To share words of comfort and memories of Jim with the family, please visit www.cookwaldencapitalparks.com.