James Lockbeam

James “Jim” John Lockbeam, 80, Bismarck, passed away peacefully on October 5, 2025. A memorial service will be held 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, October 14 at Eastgate Funeral Service, 2302 E Divide Ave, Bismarck. Family will greet guests one hour prior.

Jim was born to Michael and Barbara (Volk) Lockbeam on February 13, 1945 in Bismarck. He was raised and educated in Bismarck. At age 16, Jim “wanted to make money” and set his sights on getting his first job at Davis Chevy. His first full time job consisted of cleaning trade-in cars and getting them ready for resale. He enjoyed working on cars and had an interest in them for the rest of his life, including his well-loved 1960 Chevy.

Back in the day, Big Boy drive-thru was the hangout spot for Jim and his friends. As fate would have it, he met Judy Blatter in the Big Boy parking lot and the rest is history. They married on May 21, 1966 in McClusky and enjoyed 59 years of marriage together. They worked hard to achieve their goals, but they also enjoyed taking two weeks off every year to travel the U.S. together. Some of Jim and Judy’s favorite travels including driving to see the Grand Canyon and Yosemite National Park. Together, they liked to spend time in their yard making sure it was tidy.

He began his life-long career as a land surveyor for his uncle, Sebastian Volk. This allowed him to work on power plants in Center and missile sites in Minot and Grand Forks. For some time, Jim worked for Earle Hartung doing surveys and where he learned to do drafting. Eventually, he began working in the Engineering Department for the City of Bismarck where he was able to obtain his GED and attended Bismarck Junior College. He passed his licensure and became a Licensed Land Surveyor on February 14, 1975. He worked for the City of Bismarck from Spring 1970 until his retirement on January 16, 1997.

During retirement, he kept busy by tinkering on things. He liked to keep a tidy yard and put in many hours making sure that it looked nice. He enjoyed hunting with his son, Larry. Jim looked forward to family holidays, especially the home cooked meals and family time. He was a quiet man, but he enjoyed the company of having his children and grandchildren around. He was an amazing dad and grandfather. He will be greatly missed by his family.

He is survived by his wife, Judy; son, Larry; daughter, Barbara Ann (Gary); grandsons, Nicholas (Sharra) and Travis (Raeann); granddaughter, Tara (Tyler); six great-grandchildren and another on the way in April, brother, Harold; and many nieces, nephews and cousins.

He was preceded in death by his parents; in-laws, Ted and Esther Blatter; great-grandson, Jaxton Eugene; and sisters-in-law, Kay Lockbeam and Shirley Lockbeam.