James R. Waples, age 87 of Aurora, died Tuesday, August 14, 2012, at the Brookings Hospital. Funeral services will be 10:00 A.M. Friday, August 17, 2012, at First English Lutheran Church in Aurora, with interment at First Lutheran Cemetery in Brookings. Visitations will be from 5-7 P.M. Thursday at Eidsness Funeral Home in Brookings. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the First English Lutheran Church in Aurora or the Mayo Cancer Research Foundation. Jim Waples was born June 9, 1925, on a farm near Castana, IA. He grew up in Sioux City, IA where he graduated from East High School. He enlisted in the Navy in 1943 during WWII prior to his 18th birthday. He was honorably discharged in 1946 and joined the Naval Reserve until 1958. He attended South Dakota State College and received a B.S. in Wildlife Management in 1949 and was employed in the SDSU Horticulture/Forestry Department until 1987. On June 2, 1950, he married Elaine Friedrich. Jim was a member of First English Lutheran Church, American Legion, Golden K/Service Group, Great Plains Horticulture Society. His hobbies included gardening, hunting, fishing and woodcarving. Survivors include his wife Elaine M. (Friedrich) Waples and his 3 children: Linda (Joel) Zimbelman of Chico, CA, Rick (Lenise) Waples of Omaha, NE, and Kathy (Mark) Walker of Olathe, KS; four grandchildren: Lexie (Rhys) McCaig, Greg (Kelly) Waples, Lauren Zimbelman, and Tom (Krista) Waples, two sisters: Norma Dyrdahl of Des Moines, WA and Marcia (Joe) Gamradt of Maple Valley, WA. He was preceded in death by his parents; brother Keith.