James Bryan Hargrave

James “Jim” Bryan Hargrave, was born in Douglas, Arizona, to James Alan Hargrave & Sharon Virginia Bond. Four years later, his only sibling, Kayleen, joined the family. They moved often in their younger years: to Tyrone, NM, Concho Valley, AZ, and ended up in St. Johns, AZ, where Jim attended high school. Always a pleasant, outgoing person, Jim made lots of friends everywhere he went. Jim enjoyed playing football in high school, skiing black diamond trails, fishing, and hunting. After high school, Jim moved down to the Phoenix valley and went to Mesa Community College for a semester to play football. Deciding he didn’t like being a “tackling dummy” for all the Polynesian players on the team, he moved back to St. Johns, where he coached little league sports and worked for SRP. A little later, SRP transferred Jim back to Mesa and on December 1, 1990, Jim decided to be baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He made a lot of great friends in that ward that would last the rest of his life.

While on a church Single Adult trip to the San Diego, CA Temple, Jim met Wendy Rebecca Jones, the love of his life, and they were sealed for time and all eternity on September 21, 1996 in the Mesa, Arizona Temple. They spent their first 10 years in Mesa and the last 20 years out in San Tan Valley. To that beautiful family, 4 children were born: Adam, Hannah, Aaron & Rebekah. Jim worked hard to get his bachelor’s and master’s degrees to support his family. He loved attending the different activities his children were involved in over the years: football, wrestling, soccer, tennis, ballet, and lastly unified basketball. He loved history, especially about WWII and the state of Arizona. He loved watching football, especially at the collegiate level–he was a die hard ASU Sun Devils fan. He loved food and grilling. He was always looking for new recipes and restaurants to try. He loved watching Harry Potter movies and listening to 80’s music. He loved his family and especially loved becoming a grandpa in December of 2024.

Jim loved people. He never really met a stranger. He would talk about conversations he had with the produce guy at Safeway and the clerk at Ace Hardware. He was willing to help anyone and everyone, especially his mother, grandmother, sister, co-workers, neighbors, and friends. He was always concerned about others and how they were doing. He had a heart as big and broad as the ocean.

Jim loved to travel to new places with his wife and younger kids. They went to the giant Redwoods, the Sequoias, Yosemite, Pike’s Peak, Yellowstone, Mount Rushmore, Glacier National Park, Moraine Lake, and Lake Louise, which was his favorite. He & his wife also got to enjoy Boston, LDS church sites on the east coast & Kirtland, and lastly Hawaii for their 30th wedding anniversary in September. He was excited to cross visiting Pearl Harbor off his bucket list on that trip.

He was preceded in death by his parents and is survived by his sweetheart, Wendy, his children Adam (Alethea, wife), Hannah (Benjamin, husband; Elaine, granddaughter), Aaron (Liberty, partner), Rebekah, and his sister Kayleen (Phil, husband),

The funeral will be held on Saturday, November 14, 2026 at 10 a.m., with a viewing at 9 a.m. at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at: 2715 E. Ocotillo Road, San Tan Valley, AZ 85140. Jim’s favorite colors were forest green and bright shades of blue. Help us celebrate his life by wearing one of those colors to the funeral. If you cannot attend the funeral in person, here is a link for the broadcast of the funeral that morning: https://www.stvn.org.

If you have any pictures/memories that you’d like to send us about Jim, please share them using the following Google Drive link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZKcz7AUK1vKV7G9p8

There is a Go Fund Me account available online or Venmo: Wendy-Hargrave-1 or Zelle if you would like to help support Jim’s family with the hospital and funeral expenses.