James Dawson

James (Jim) R. Dawson, age 90, passed away on April 11, 2020 at his home in Wichita, Kan. Jim was born on May 16, 1929 in Keswick to James Richard Dawson and Helen June Cross. He grew up in Sigourney and graduated from Sigourney High School in 1946. Jim was a veteran, enlisted in the Navy from 1950 through 1953. He married Hazel Diana Bablitz in 1956 and they had three children: Timothy, Kenneth, and Teresa.

Jim was a man of ideas, with an entrepreneurial personality, and a salesman's spirit. He sold plastics, chemicals, trailers, men's clothing, golf equipment, car windshields and printed materials during his career in sales. In the 1960s, Jim designed a balanced inventory strategy utilizing just-in-time concepts to help maximize sales and cash flow. He used this strategy to open and operate Dawson's Clothing Store in Newton, Iowa. In 1966, he moved to Wichita where he revolutionized and tripled the growth of Safelite Auto Glass by selling their distributorships on the merits of keeping a sufficient inventory of standard size windshields in their territories. In 1970, Jim was hired as the Sales Manager at Printing Incorporated, igniting growth in the business and eventually becoming the President until his retirement in 2003. Jim was an avid golfer and a longtime member of the Crestview Country Club, serving as President in 1990. He was a student of the golf game, routinely reading Golf Digest cover to cover, and playing multiple rounds of golf each week, well into his 80s. He enjoyed spending time with his former second wife, Kay Shoffner Dawson, who was by his side as a caregiver and companion until his passing.

Jim was preceded in death by his parents, his brother David L. Dawson, his sister Mary Ann Dawson, and his son James Timothy Dawson.

Jim is survived by his son, Kenneth C. Dawson (wife Salme) of Laguna Niguel, Calif.; his daughter, Helen Teresa Krejci (husband Bill) of Plainfield, Ill.; his brother Robert J. Dawson (wife Darlene) of Marion; his grandchildren, Jennifer, Lydia, Jake, Ben, Michael, and Maria; and many nieces, nephews and other relatives.

Memorial graveside service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, July 11, at St. Mary's Cemetery in Sigourney.

Memorials may be made to the Wichita Junior Golf Foundation, 58 E. Via Verde St., Wichita, KS 67230.

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