JAMES WESLEY  DRAPER  JR. 70, of Sioux City, Iowa and formerly of Cherokee, Iowa passed away Monday evening, July 22, 2019 in Unity Point Health-St. Luke's in Sioux City, Iowa.

Memorial services will be held on Monday, July 29 ^th at 10:30 a.m. at the First Church of Christ in Cherokee, Iowa. Rev. Don Gordon will officiate. Military rites will be held outside the church following the service. Burial will be in the Pilot Township Cemetery at rural Cherokee, Iowa at a later date. Visitation with the family present will be held on Sunday, July 28 from 2 p.m. until 4 p.m. at the Boothby Funeral Home in Cherokee, Iowa . Online condolences can be left at www.boothbyfuneral.com

James was born on October 21, 1948 at Cherokee, Iowa to James W. Draper Sr. & Helen Ruby (Sturm) Draper. He attended Sutherland schools. He was married to Diane Graham on May 20, 1967 at Sutherland, Iowa. The couple were blessed with two children; Mark Wayne Draper and Michelle Kay Draper. They were divorced and then remarried on May 20, 1976 at Elk Point, South Dakota. He was later married to Barbara Leeds on November 15, 1980 at Cherokee, Iowa.  A daughter Jessica was born to this marriage.

James served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War. He had worked as a welder for Lundell Manufacturing, Caswell's, Cherokee County Maintenance Department, as a handyman and enjoyed flipping houses over the years.  He liked to go hunting and enjoyed going to dances. He was a member of the American Legion in Cherokee and Sioux City, Iowa, and the Fraternal Order of Eagles in Sioux City. He had lived in Sioux City, Iowa since 2011, and prior to this had lived in Holstein, Quimby, Cherokee, Larrabee, and was originally from Sutherland, Iowa.

He was preceded in death by his parents, a son Mark Wayne Draper in 2009, a granddaughter Jocelyn Draper in 2011, a sister Linda Draper in infancy, and a brother Jeffrey Draper.

He is survived by two daughters: Michelle Kay Rupp and her children Nicole, Trysten, Madison, and Taryn of Elk Point, South Dakota; Jessica Jorgensen and her daughter Calleigh of Friendswood, Texas; Mark's children; Mercedes Doyle and Jordan Draper; his siblings: Joe (Dixie) Draper of Cherokee, Iowa; Wanda (Dennis) Vodehnal of Lincoln, Nebraska; Jon Draper of Cherokee, Iowa and his significant other Terry McGarry; his special friend Suzanne Rupp of Cherokee,Iowa; also several nieces and nephews.