Dr. James Koontz

Hastings resident, Dr. James E. Koontz, 91, died Tuesday, May 24, 2011 at Mary Lanning Memorial HealthCare, Hastings, Nebraska.

Memorial services will be Thursday, May 26, 2011; 2:00 P.M. at First Presbyterian Church, Hastings with Rev. Dr. William Nottage-Tacey officiating. Private family burial will be held at a later date. There will be no viewing or visitation. The family requests no flowers. Memorials can be sent to the James and Margaret Koontz Endowed Scholarship Fund, Hastings College, Hastings, Nebraska.

James E. Koontz was born in Hedrick, Iowa on January 27, 1920 to Alva Glenn & Irene (Ware) Koontz. As a young man, he attended York College (at that time affiliated with the United Brethern Church) in York, Nebraska. He married Margaret Eutsler, a fellow college student on November 14, 1941. Following graduation from York College in 1942, James began teaching high school science and music in Ponca, Nebraska. Jim and Margaret moved to Wakefield, Nebraska where he taught high school music. He later joined the faculty at York College where he taught music and directed the college choir until 1954. During the time the family lived in York, James served as a lay minister in addition to his teaching responsibilities. When York College closed in 1954 James, Margaret, and their children moved to Clarksville, Arkansas. It was at the College of the Ozarks (now University of the Ozarks) where he taught music and directed the college a cappella choir. In January 1963, he was awarded his Ed.D. from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas. He and the family by this time had moved to Hastings, where he served as Chairman of the Education Department at Hastings College from 1962 until his retirement in 1982. Jim was a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Hastings for 49 years. He served the church as an Elder. He taught adult Sunday School classes, and continued his service to area churches in Nebraska and Kansas as a lay minister for thirty years, from 1962 to 1992.

Survivors include:
Wife of 69 years: Margaret Koontz - Hastings, NE
Sons & Spouses: James E. Koontz II & JoAnn Koontz - Brainard, NE
Rev. Dr. Peter Frazier-Koontz & Mary Koontz - Lincoln, NE
Daughter & Spouse: Kathleen & Dennis Maloney - Omaha, NE
Brothers & Spouse: Fred & Laura Koontz - Lincoln, NE
Alva Koontz, Jr. - Council Bluffs, IA
Grandchildren: 8
Great-Grandchildren: 10
Many Nieces, Nephews, and friends