James William Dawes

James William Dawes, always known as Jim to family and friends, was born on Wednesday August 10, 1949, in Houston, Texas, to Patricia Ruth Dawes and Hubert Clark Dawes, and passed away on Monday June 14, 2010, at Bozeman Deaconess Hospital in Bozeman, Montana, after a lengthy illness.

Jim was a 1967 graduate of Spring Branch High School, where he excelled in academics earning literary and anthology awards, and where he excelled as a star athlete in football and track. Jim subsequently attended the University of Houston, where, in 1974, he earned his Bachelor of Arts in History Degree. In 1981, Jim left Texas and ultimately earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of Arkansas College of Law in 1984; he returned to his native Houston the following year and began an active and successful twenty year career as an attorney, licensed in Texas and Arkansas. Jim retired from the profession of law in 2005 and moved again, for the last time, to Bozeman, Montana, where he resided until the time of his death.

Jim was always an avid reader and both a renowned historian of the Civil War and World War II, as well as a published fiction writer and a musician, spending his retirement years in writing short stories and in playing his beloved bass guitar. Jim was well known among family and friends as one of The Beatles' most ardent fans ever.

Jim is survived by his brother and sister-in-law, Joel and Margaret Dawes, his nieces Rachel Dawes-Griffin, Laura Dawes and Sara Dawes, and a nephew, Patrick Dawes, all of Tulsa, Oklahoma; two aunts, Katherine K. Jahnke and Juanita Rogers, and a number of cousins.

Arrangements under the direction of Heights Funeral Home, 1317 Heights Boulevard, Houston, Texas.