James Clarence Skaggs passed away peacefully, Thursday, February 1, 2018, in Basin Wyoming with his loving wife Adria Eason Chavis by his side on.  Jim was born January 15, 1932 in Rawlings, Wyoming; the only child of Verdon Marie Van Devender and Noah Clarence Skaggs. At the age of two he moved with his parents to Eli Nevada where his father was a carpenter and his mother taught elementary school. A few years later they moved to Riverton Utah, where he attended Roosevelt Grade School where his mother taught him until the 6^th grade.  He later attended Jordan High School until his Junior year when they moved to Star Valley Wyoming.  Jim enjoyed hunting, fishing and playing basketball for Star Valley High School. After graduating from Star Valley, at age 18, Jim joined the army with his best friend La Grande Hobbs. This was during the Korean War. They both attended boot camp together at Fort Campbell Kentucky.  Jim spent the next two years at Fort Campbell where he worked with tanks; eventually becoming a tank commander and platoon Sargent.

After the army Jim moved to Salt Lake City with his parents; where he met Carol La Nea Reese. They were married in 1952 in Elko Nevada and later sealed in the St George Utah Temple in 1963.  After getting married Jim worked for Clover Leaf Dairy as a salesman while attending college at the University of Utah. He later became an award-winning salesman for the Prudential Life Insurance company. Jim and Carol moved their family to Kanab, Utah where Jim loved acting and acted in dozens on movies such as Gun Smoke, the Ten Commandments, Million Dollar Man, just to name a few.  He started the “Old Barn Playhouse”, in Kanab where he wrote, directed and even acted in several plays which performed every weeknight during the summer.

In August of 1987 Carol passed away in the Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo, Utah.  Jim moved to South Jordan Utah a couple of months later to find better employment.  Here he met and fell in love with Adria Eason Chavis. Jim and Adria were married in the Salt Lake City Temple on April 1^st 1988 and lived in South Jordan, Utah until the moved to Wyoming. They lived in Basin Wyoming for the past several years.

Jim was preceded in death by his first wife Carol La Nea Reese who passed away August 29, 1987.  They have six children; Susan Honey of Kanab UT. Julie (Jim) Fraser of Spanish Fork UT, Shauna (Lary) Smith of St George, UT, Mike (Brenda) Skaggs of Page AZ, Mellisa (Loren) Motley of Austin TX, and Richard (Cindy) Skaggs of Spanish Fork, UT. Adria has two sons, Sterling Chavis of Basin WY and Anthony and Kaeti Chavis of Salt Lake City, UT.

A viewing will be held at the Basin Wyoming LDS Church building on Tuesday, February 6^th, from 10-11 a.m.with the funeral at 11 a.m. Interment and a grave side ceremony will be held at the Kanab City Cemetery on Friday, February 9^th at 11 a.m.