James Edward Bundrick was born in Miami, Arizona on July 5, 1942, and came to the end of his earthly trail on October 7, 2026. Little Jimmy Bundrick, as he was affectionately known as by his brothers, Gale and Gary Bundrick, grew up in Coolidge, Ariz., where his parents owned Bundrick Plumbing.

Jim graduated from Coolidge High School and went to college near Safford, Ariz., where he met Deborah Hoopes. They eventually got married and had three children. The family moved to Cedar City, Utah, in the 70s where Jim worked for the concessionaire in the national parks. He saw a lot of changes through his 27 years with TWA, Amfac Parks & Resorts and Xanterra. At the end of his career, he was the director of engineering. He spent years at Bryce Canyon, Zion National Park and Grand Canyon North Rim, along with some occasional work trips to Grand Canyon South Rim and Scotty’s Castle in Death Valley.

Jim met Kristi Reeves at Grand Canyon North Rim and they got married on the veranda of the historic lodge in May 1998, way before the National Park Service recklessly burned it down. They lived in a remodeled tack shed near Cedar City, Utah, for a while and raised alfalfa and sheep. When a neighbor dispute over barking hound dogs took place, Jim nailed up a For Sale sign with “barking dogs not included” scrawled on it. He and Kristi moved to Coconino County, Ariz., near Kanab, Utah, where Jim retired from his job but didn’t slow down. He worked as a ranch hand at Pipe Spring National Monument for a while where he grew an award-winning garden, took care of the animals, trained the longhorns and cooked Dutch Oven potatoes for the guests.

Jim was a storyteller and loved being outdoors. Some of his favorite times were spent ranching and riding his horse, CJ, with Granny and Grampie. He loved the ranch life from an early age and spent time at El Capitan (The Old Ranch) near Globe, Ariz., not to be confused with Bundrick Deer Creek Ranch (The New Ranch), which was a 40-section cow ranch near Winkelman, Ariz.

Jim was an avid hunter throughout his life and he enjoyed guiding his friends on elk, deer and mountain lion hunts. Legend has it that on a hunt in the Uintas, he cut out a piece of the moose heart while it was still warm and ate it so he could “be one with the animal.” Jim spent time at Mountain Man Rendezvous, where he was Shooter of the Year more than once. He could shoot things at a distance that other people could not even see. He could start a fire in a couple of seconds with flint and steel, he could tan hides and make his own clothes. He had a passion for muzzleloaders and continued using old time hunting methods without all the modern equipment. He knew more about guns than most people and hunted everything from squirrels to javelina. He was taught to eat what he killed and one of his favorite stories was when he dragged a nasty jackrabbit home and was so relieved when his mom didn’t make him eat it.

Jim loved nature, animals, jerky and trucks. Chevy, Ford, Dodge or Toyota; he loved them all. He raised sheep, cows and hound dogs. He also had peacocks, bees, mules, horses, chickens, pigs and goats through the years.

He also had many jobs and side gigs during his life. He worked as a plumber (least favorite job) and a State Farm insurance agent. He was employed at Southwest Gas, had a firewood business and a bee business and raised Bluetick hounds.

Jim was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was a counselor in a Bishopric in Coolidge, Ariz., where he was responsible for groups of people and various programs. He taught Seminary and was a Sunday School teacher. According to Jim, his Sunday School career was cut short when he followed through with his promise to take the kids to Brad’s Food Hut for fries during class if they would pay attention for a while.

Jim was a tough man. He survived so much through the years including a knee replacement, truck crashes, a snowmobile wreck, an untreated broken ankle, a chainsaw gash to the leg, many scrapes, cuts, bruises, burns and Kristi selling Tupperware. He finally got set back too far by an outpatient procedure in St. George, Utah, where the doctor said he thought he nicked Jim’s lung. The procedure resulted in a blood clot that caused a stroke in 2019. He was never the same. He was confined to his recliner most of the time but was dedicated to watching Gunsmoke at high noon.

Jim was preceded in death by his parents, Edward William Bundrick and Ruby Isabel McCartney Bundrick; grandparents Jesse James McCartney and Alice Doris Dunbar McCartney, and Albert William and Yzobel Rosetta Jory Bundrick; and sister-in-law Janis Bundrick.

Jim is survived by his wife, Kristi Reeves Bundrick (aka Bunni); his brothers; children, grandchildren; great-grandchildren; and many friends and family members who loved him. Brothers: G.W. Bundrick (Carla) (Tucson, Ariz.) and Gary Bundrick (Gilbert, Ariz.); daughter Michele Sampson (Glendale, Ariz.); granddaughters: Ashley Sampson and Ciera Holston; son Bret Bundrick (Patty) (Kila, Mont.); grandchildren: Shane Bundrick (Jennifer), Briana Piper, Hunter Bundrick, and Victoria Bundrick; daughter Bobbi Robinson (Lonnie) (Washington, Utah); grandchildren: Jamie Olsen (Paul), Clark Robinson (Cecy), Vanessa Faylor (Si), Chandler Robinson (Kelsey); in-laws Shari Mills (Tommy) (Benton, Ark.) Lori Ascough (Eric) (Benton, Ark.) and Steve Reeves (Karen) (Texarkana, Texas); and friend to the end Danny Little.

Private family services will be held at a later date. Jim will be buried at the Bundrick Family Ranch among the rocks and land that he so loved.