Monday, May 9, 2011

Obituary - Jim LaRose

James H. “Jim” LaRose July 6, 1941 – May 7, 2011 James H. “Jim” LaRose of Adrian, MO passed away on May 7, 2011 after a long and courageous battle with cancer. Funeral services will be held at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, May 10 at the Atkinson Funeral Home in Adrian, MO. Burial will be in Crescent Hill Cemetery, Adrian. Friends may call from 10:00-11:30 Tuesday at the funeral home. The family requests donations to the Adrian Optimist Club, RR3, Box 315, Adrian, MO 64720.

Jim was born on July 6, 1941 in Bolivar, Missouri to Grace M. Moore and Samuel LaRose. He graduated from Southwest High School in Kansas City. He worked for over 35 years at Howard Automotive in KCMO and was active in his community.


Jim never knew a stranger. From his early days spent racing sprint cars to fishing and duck hunting, and afternoons working on cars in his shop after he retired, Jim was an active outdoorsman and made many friends along the way. He collected tractors and guns and followed those passions to coordinate numerous tractor shows and gun shows raising money for organizations, such as the Adrian Optimist Club, Western Mo Antique Tractor Assn. and many others.


Jim loved NASCAR and Harley-Davidson Motorcycles and collected T-shirts from both. Each summer, he looked forward to the sprint car nationals in Knoxville, IA and shared this pastime with family and friends. The kids will fondly recall conversations in the garage over the sounds of cars being fixed and visits to Grandma’s house where Jim and John could be found napping (and awakened by giggles and pokes) in their childhood beds after family meals.
He was preceded in death by his father, Sam, his mother and stepfather, Grace and Joe Lipscomb and his brother, John A. LaRose. He is survived by his wife of 18 years, Laura LaRose, and his daughters, Robin Spears (Michael), Shelley LaRose Arken (Larry), Angie LaRose Witt (Gary) and Jennifer LaRose, as well as his nephew, Jason LaRose (Tracy) and niece, Julie LaRose (Randall Pool). He is also survived by four grandchildren, Jeannie Wohletz (Chad), Dylan and Jacqueline Arken and Brandon Spears and two great-grandchildren, Scotty and Aiden and a grand-nephew, Dax.

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