James Rock McEntire

On July 10, 2025, James Rock McEntire passed away suddenly at his home in Centerville, Utah.

Born February 7, 1938 in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California; Jim was the youngest of four children, and the only son, of William Maynard McEntire and Esther "Beth" Rock McEntire.

Originally from the Ogden area, Maynard and Beth packed up and moved back to Utah when Jimmy was just three years old. Frequent trips back to Carmel in his youth, helping his father-who was a building contractor-fostered a lifelong love for his hometown.

As an early teen he discovered electronics and built his first radio. His mother would roll her eyes at the state of his bedroom, every flat surface covered in every kind of part you could ever need and multiple projects in process (Spoiler alert: that never changed-his basement workshop looks exactly the same decades later.)

He spent hours building radios and taking apart and rebuilding anything he could get his hands on. He was into computers before most people knew what they were.

After graduating from Weber High in 1956, he attended Weber State College, then transferred to Utah State University in Logan, Utah. There, he had his own show on the University Radio Station, worked as a security guard at Old Main, started a lifelong love of Ham Radio and graduated with a degree in Business and a minor in Electrical Engineering. Along the way, he collected plenty of stories with lifelong friend Carl Nelson-whom he met in junior high when Carl accidentally stabbed him in the arm with a pencil. The scar stayed, and so did the friendship.

A few years after college, a former boss who had become head of Amalgamated Sugar recruited Jim to overhaul a troubled Tare Lab. He and one mechanical engineer went through every circuit and connection with a fine-tooth comb, rebuilding it from the ground up.

A blind date set up by friends led to May 20, 1966 when he wed Beverly May from Brigham City Utah. After a whirlwind honeymoon, he returned to his job in Idaho and Beverly settled in their apartment in SLC.

Their long-distance marriage lasted until just before the birth of their first child, at which point Jim moved back to Utah-marking, as Beverly often jokes, the beginning of a family tradition: Jim changing jobs every time a baby was born.

In 1968, after the birth of their first daughter Michele, they moved to Centerville and rented a small red brick house on Center Street. In 1973, following another job change and the arrival of their second daughter, Kelli Ann, they purchased a larger home in the Centerville foothills-where they would put down roots and raise their family.

In 1976, Jim achieved a longtime dream: he started his own company, MC Squared, Inc.-and also welcomed their youngest child, a son, Kenneth James.

The next several years saw life moving forward; he ran his own company, MC Squared, Inc, frequently traveling the Western United States as a manufacturer's representative. He got his pilot's license and started a side-job at KSL Radio in Salt Lake City doing "Air Alert", the daily drive-time traffic report. Jim loved golf and played whenever he could, even realizing a lifelong dream of playing at Pebble Beach in Monterey, California. Annual summer trips to Bear Lake with the Nelson family-driving in a convoy and chatting over ham radios-are treasured memories. He was an amateur photographer, an aspiring chef and Knower of all Things.

He retired from his company in 2005, but never one to be able to sit around and do nothing, he promptly got a job at Home Depot, where he worked for just shy of 2 years. In August of 2007, he started a new position in Inside Technical Sales at Protronix Controls in Centerville where he remained until his passing.

Jim was 87, he had a good life, a life he loved. He was a loving, supportive husband and a patient, loving and fun father. He cherished his wife, his children and his friends. He was the first one to offer help and he loved teaching others about his passions. His presence, influence and guidance will be missed more than words can say.

He was the last surviving member of his immediate family, preceded in death by his parents and three sisters, Frances Schaerer, Elaine Wood and Dorothy Manning.

He is survived by his wife, Beverly and their three children, Michele (Mish) McEntire, Kelli McEntire Williams and Ken McEntire; son-in-law David Williams; his "grand-dog" Roscoe and "grand-kitties" Simcoe, Cascade, Nelson, Cashmere, Calypso and Zappa.

A viewing and Celebration of Life will be held on Wednesday, July 16, 2025 in the Relief Society Room at the Centerville Canyon View Stake Center, 2110 N. Main St. Centerville, UT 84014.

The schedule is as follows:

2:00p-2:45p:Viewing

2:45p-3:00p:Family Prayer and Closing of the Casket

3:00p-4:00p: Celebration of Life