James Michael Packard

James Michael Packard, son of the late Corbin and Edna (Anderson) Packard, was born July 17, 1952 in Slayton, Minnesota, and departed this life on May 27, 2015 at his home in Mountain Grove, Missouri. He was 62 years old physically but forever a kid at heart.
After graduating from high school in Lake Wilson, Minnesota, he joined the Army in 1970 and served his country proudly for 18 years. He then pursued a career in trucking for over 20 years with J.B. Hunt, Wood-Pro, and Prime Trucking.
Jim was the proud father of four children: Susan, Linda, Michael Adam, and Phillip. He married Cherol Cherrie Gray on April 21, 1995 in Miami, Oklahoma.
Jim also loved working with children. He worked at Boys and Girls Town and finally at Wright County Childrens Home.
Jim was an avid fisherman and hunter, especially pheasant hunting. He also loved a good political debate and enjoyed aggravating Democrats. He was a natural comedian who never failed to make everybody in the room smile and laugh. Jim will be missed by all of us who were lucky enough to know him.

Jim was preceded in death by his parents and his mother-in-law: Shilah Morris.

Jim is survived by his loving wife of their home: Cherrie Packard; two daughters: Susan Watson and her husband, Fred, of St. James, Missouri, and Linda Packard and her husband, Jon Mossie, of Olathe, Kansas; two sons: Michael Adam Shores and his wife, Bonnie Redding, of Mountain Grove, and Phillip Douglas Shores and his wife, Channing, of Mansfield, Missouri; two brothers: Donald Packard and his wife, Sheila, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Kenny Hill of Lake Wilson, Minnesota; two sisters: Colleen Fowler and her husband, Dale, and Connie McClanahan and her husband, Mark, all of Sharpsburg, Georgia; two brothers-in-law: Mark Morris and his wife, Loretta, of Mountain Grove, and Tony Morris of Springfield, Missouri; one sister-in-law: Jennifer Staudt and her husband, Tom, of Lebanon, Missouri; his father-in-law: Fred Morris of Mountain Grove; seven grandchildren: Hunter, Tucker, Cooper, Vinsen, Sunny, Lauren, and Alyssa; nephews and nieces: Justin Packard, Kim and John Youmans and their children: Makayla and Corbin, Robin and Trey Anderson and their children: Emma and Eli, and Dale and Olivia Fowler; and many other friends and family who will miss him dearly.


Funeral Service: Monday, June 1, 2015 at 2:00 PM at Craig-Hurtt Funeral Home.

Burial: Hillcrest Cemetery.