James Robert Rourk

James Robert Rourk 1933-2019 Guitars. George Jones. Donna Rourk. Three things Jim Rourk loved with a passion. And not in that order, because we all know Donna was number one. He loved her Tenderly (their song) for nearly 67 years. He also loved a good garage sale. If a bag of phones was .50, he was going to buy it. Radios, speakers, gadgets, SOLD. Our dad loved the art of the hunt. The bargain hunt. And how about that Jim Rourk wit. Such hilariousness coming from such a soft-spoken man. He was the Bob Newhart of the Midwest. Jim was quite well-known for his fantastic head of hair. Wavy and thick, as it turned white, it turned heads. Fishing and friends and Elsmore Lake and pontooning were all Jim faves. And also biscuits & gravy. Let's talk sports. KU basketball. KC Royals. KC Chiefs. The trifecta. If you consider Wheel of Fortune a sport, Jim would have been wearing a super bowl ring. His three amazing, talented, funny, popular, awesome kids (JR, Kevin + Becky) are proud to have called him dad. His equally amazing, talented, funny, popular, awesome grandkids (Chad, Kaylee, Heather, Jake) were his pride and joy. And the great great grandkids, too. He was equally enamored of all the new babies gettin their slobber on. G-pa loved them all. Nieces, nephews, neighbors, classmates, fellow musicians, and whoever makes the pork tenders at G&W, all had a special place in Jim Rourk's heart. The local bird population enjoyed being fed thousands of pounds of birdseed by Jim (and Donna). Squirrels feared him. Jim was quite the wife-helper and ran a mean vacuum. Jim was The original Guitar Man. Self-taught, he played and sang nearly every day. And we loved it. He was the proud baby brother of two brothers and three sisters and the son of Elzie and Ruby. A true Irishman, James Robert Rourk, Mom's husband and our dad was a musical, funny, smart, talented, hard-working, strong, helpful, handy, really good man who was and is loved by many, many lucky people. A Celebration of an awesome life will be held at a later date. You can rest assured country music WILL be involved. "Walk through this world with me, go where I go. Share all your dreams with me, for I love you so."