"Working with Jim throughout the years was a pleasure. I will never forget his humor and all the stories he would tell about his family. Dana Lindner Fort Dodge"
In loving memory of
James Ambrose
May 22, 1960 - January 19, 2018
James "Jim" Ambrose, 57, of Waterloo, Iowa passed away in Des Moines, Iowa on Friday, January 19, 2018 at Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines, Iowa. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, January 27. 2018 at 10:30 a.m. at the Immaculate Conception Church in Gilbertville, Iowa.
Tributes
"There are so many good ones, probably the best one is when we 1st met about 38 yrs ago. He was working at the mobile gas station and I happened to stop in for the full service they had at that time. He filled my tank, checked everything over under the hood (at the time I believed that he was mechanically inclined haha). I wrote a check, he noticed my last name was Schmitz & that started a long conversation, i was living next door to his brother Pat and we continued daily for quite awhile, I would sneak him into my house (w/ my parents there) after a night out on the town many many times, can't believe we never got caught (I was still in HS) Then one day he told me he enlisted in the Navy. Heartbroken the way I am now, I understood & we started our new lives. When I found out that he came back here to stay, it was like we started where we left off. Even though we didn't have a "relationship" we had a terrific friendship & he was always there for me when I needed to talk & vent. Very supportive & ALWAYS a gentleman. His sense of humor, kindness, work ethic & hospitality was his strong points. The stories about their childhood & the way he told them were hilarious. Never a dull moment with Jim. He said when the 3 of them were born, they had to mark them 1,2 & 3 because their names got worn off of their feet or something like that, so he really didn't know for sure if he was really originally Jim, John or Joe. He insisted he was the oldest, but never could literally prove it because of the name mix up. When he would tell his confession story, I laughed so hard my stomach hurt. I'm sure most of you know that story. The ironic thing about Jim is he grew up in gilbertville, just like my Dad, he served in the Navy, just like my Dad, he was a strong union member, just like my Dad, he worked his butt off & took care of his kids, just like my Dad & his life here w/us ended in January at age 57, just like my Dad. I loved him so, just like my Dad. Rest in peace my friend until we meet again."