James “Jim” Unruh, 73, from Chuckey, TN passed away on June 29th, 2025. He was born in 1951, in Elgin, Illinois to Ed and Marilyn Unruh. He graduated from Dundee High School in 1969. He went on to become a Superintendent of various excavating companies in Northern Illinois, moving a lot of dirt over the years. He was also a ski instructor in CO, IL, and WI until the local ski areas closed down. He was proud of his PSIA certification (Professional Ski Instructors of America.) He shared his love of skiing with his kids. His third and favorite career was building hot rods as the owner of Lions Hot Rods. “Jimmy” grew up with many influential hot rodders in Northern Illinois and was an early member of the National Street Rod Association. It was a lifelong hobby and passion and he built cars for each of his kids. Jim is survived by his wife, Ginger whom he married in 2021, his three children; Brett (Paige) Unruh, Cate (Kristian Svennevig) Unruh and Matt Unruh, and his grandkids; Aubree Hansen, Lola Spencer, Easton, Camden, Carsen, and Fallon Unruh. His sister-in-law, Sue Unruh, and nieces, Kristin and Karin. He was preceded in death by his parents in 1988 and 2016, and his younger brother, Rick, just earlier this year. Jim never met a stranger as he loved to chat with everyone and was a great storyteller. He was a friend of Bill’s for 30 years. Jim and Ginger retired to TN in 2019 where they have a great group of friends. A memorial service will be held in Northern Illinois this fall.
