James Willis Yeater

James Willis “Jim” Yeater died the evening of September 28. Jim was the son of Pearle Marie and Raymond Yeater; he was born at home in Albany, Missouri, the youngest of three children, on June 16, 1929. Jim enjoyed his small town upbringing and had wonderful memories of life in Albany. He received his Bachelor’s degree in English at Baker University in Baldwin, Kansas. Shortly after he graduated he was drafted into the Army and spent a year fighting in the Korean War. When he returned from Korea, he used the G.I. Bill to obtain his Master’s Degree in Theatre at the University of Washington in Seattle. He and Carolyn Risser were married that summer and Jim spent a year teaching at Hoquiam High School in Hoquiam, WA. He taught all four years of English, a Journalism class, advised the school paper and directed two plays during that school year. It was an interesting experience, but not one he wished to repeat, so he and Carolyn packed up their 1950 Chevrolet and drove to Champaign-Urbana, where Jim began working on a Ph.D. in Theatre at the University of Illinois. After two years of intensive study and a few acting parts in the Theatre Department’s productions, Doctor Jim accepted a job at Arizona State College (soon to be University). He taught Theatre classes and directed many plays and musicals (and a few operas) for 32 years, before he retired in 1990. When the Coen Brothers filmed “Raising Arizona” in the Valley, Jim was cast as the “Fingerprint Man” in the picture; he continued to receive small royalty checks for that role. Jim was honored by the Talking Book Library for the many years he recorded books for the blind and described theatrical performances for blind patrons. In 2010, he and Carolyn moved to Friendship Village, where he enjoyed many activities and dozens of new friends. This past August Jim and Carolyn celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. Jim is survived by his wife, his son Christopher, Chris’s wife Mitzi and their sons Ryan and Cody, as well as Mitzi’s son David and his family, all of Tempe; his son Eric, of Arlington, Virginia and his daughter Amy and her fiancé Keith Smith, of Seattle. Jim’s brother-in-law and his wife, Dave and Becky Risser of Seattle survive him, as well as his nieces Linda Ellgen and her husband of Lacey, WA, Sheri Irish and her family of East Lansing, MI, and Karen Young, of Houston, TX, as well as his nephew Andrew Boeger of Salem, Oregon and his family. Jim’s first cousins Bob Yeater and his wife Betty, Rosalie Vanzant and Norma Tilton, all of Missouri, also survive. Arrangements have been handled by Green Acres Mortuary, Scottsdale, AZ.