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With hearts full of gratitude and sorrow, we announce that our father, James Roy Scogin (Scoggins), 91, of Cottage Grove, Ore., closed his eyes and left us, on August 11, 2026, listening to his favorite music and messages from loved ones.
His lifelong love of family and the outdoors began on April 29, 1935, in the Champ Grubbs House in Drew County. He loved to entertain us with stories of growing up on a rural farm, where self-sufficiency and community combined to create a challenging, rewarding, and often humorous life, including fishing, hunting, and running, scared of the dark, across the unlit dog trot of his house to light the fires early each morning.
He graduated from Drew Central High School in 1953 and loved attending the multi-year reunions to catch up with classmates. Dad attended Southern California Bible College (now Vanguard University) in Costa Mesa, Calif., studying divinity and driving his diamond-tucked Buick, while working as a lay preacher in the Assemblies of God Church, before moving with our mother, Wilma (Davidson), to Oregon, where he worked in the lumber industry until his retirement in 1997.
When not singing or serving at local churches, Dad could often be found hunting, fishing, or just listening to the birds in the Southern Oregon woods, including Shale City, where he harvested numerous deer and other critters to feed his family. After a decade living in Bastrop, La. with his high school sweetheart, Betty (Scroggins) Spear, he moved back to Oregon in 2011 to be closer to his kids, grandkids, and great grandkids. They all enjoyed the hugs and humor of Boppa Jim.
He is survived by his four children Carol Kinney (Terry), Kevin Scoggins (Ronda), Stacy Scoggins, and James Scoggins (Krista), eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren, cousin Nolan Pennington, and several nephews and nieces spread across the continent. He is preceded by his father, Charles Wright and mother Luna Jewel, eleven siblings, wife Wilma, and Betty Spear.
Wherever he went, Dad quickly made friends through his kindness, curiosity, and humor. He will be interred at Eastwood Cemetery in Medford, Ore. In lieu of flowers, we suggest you listen to birdsong, watch a meteor shower, or eat some peanut M&Ms.
Arrangements are in the care of Smith-Lund-Mills Funeral Chapel and Crematorium, Cottage Grove, Oregon.
