James Edward "Jim" Younts

James Edward Younts was a lifelong resident of Independence and Kansas City.

Jim was born on May 30, 1929, to Roy Clayton Younts and Emma Jean Brown Younts in Independence, Missouri. He graduated from Northeast High School, the University of Kansas School of Journalism and was commissioned as a 2nd Lt. in the United States Air Force Reserve in the KU class of 1950. He was a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity and a Life Member of the KU Alumni Association.

 Jim’s first job was with the Independence Examiner newspaper where he met his future wife, Roberta Lee (Bobbie) Maness, while he was interviewing her as a promising classical singer at the Conservatory of Music. When the Korean War began, he applied for active duty with the Air Force and came home on leave to be married on September 1, 1951. 

 After training assignments, he was sent to Korea as a combat intelligence officer and was assigned to the elite 51st Fighter Interceptor Wing, equipped with the first line F-86 Saberjets, as a mission briefing and debriefing officer working closely with the fighter pilots including future astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Marine John Glenn, top Korean War ace Joe McConnell, ace Hal Fisher, and Wing commanders and WW II notables Francis Gabreski and John Mitchell. One of the highlights of the job was taking the pilot mission reports and the descriptions of their dogfights at 40,000 feet over Mig Alley near the Yalu River with the Russian-built Mig-15s during 1952-53. The 51st received both the Korean and US presidential unit citations. He served 23 years in the active and reserve, including a graduate of the Command and Staff College, as an Air Force Academy Liaison Officer and was a member of the 51st Fighter Interceptor Wing Association.

 Jim retired as President of Cook & Younts Insurance, Inc. working in the property and casualty field. He was also former President of the Suburban Independent Insurance Agents Association. 

 Jim was a private pilot flying with family coast to coast many times, as well as eastern Canada. He was a 73-year member and deacon emeritus of the First Christian Church of Independence; a 63-year member of the Independence Rotary Club and Paul Harris Fellow; member of the Nelson Atkins Museum Friends of Art; member of the World War I Museum; was elected a 3-term member of the Jackson County Republican Committee in the 1980s; and was a former member of the Independence Jaycees. Jim was an original 50-year Chiefs season ticket holder and attended the Chief's first two Super Bowls. He was a non-resident owner of a Hyatt Motel in Southern California for several years and was active in limited commercial land development in Independence.

 He was an enthusiastic traveler to Europe with 34 trips including researched WWII sites, and two trips to Egypt and Turkey from 1973-2019. He was a dedicated musical theatre fan beginning with the first year of Starlight Theatre and attended dozens of musicals in Kansas City, New York, and London as well as the Kansas City Lyric Opera; many performances at the Metropolitan Opera in New York; all 3 opera houses in Berlin; as well as Vienna, Prague and Milan.

 He is preceded in death by his first wife, Roberta “Bobbie” Maness, who died in 1990 after 38 years of marriage. He is also preceded in death by his parents, Roy and Emma Younts. He is survived by his second wife, Luanne Shrout, who he met at a performance of “Aida” at the Lyric Opera in Kansas City; they were married in 1993. He is also survived by his 2 sons, Christopher Lane Younts, Holden, MO, and Stephen Michael Younts, Kansas City, a stepdaughter, the Rev. Sunny Beth Ridings (David), Blue Springs, step-grandchildren Douglas and Elizabeth (Lizzy), and niece Cheryl Craig of Illinois.

 Shortly before his death, he said “My dear wife, Luanne, has been a loving primary caregiver through the last several years of my life. She is my rock!”

 A visitation will be held at Speaks Suburban Chapel on Friday, September 13, 2024, from 1-2 pm. A funeral service will begin at 2 pm, officiated by his step-daughter, Reverend Sunny Ridings. Jim will be buried during a private family graveside in the Younts family plot in Mount Washington Cemetery, Independence. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the First Christian Church, Independence MO, or to Tall Oaks Camp and Conference Center, Linwood KS.

 The family would like to extend a special thanks to Advanced Home Health and Hospice who lovingly cared for Jim in his final days.