James "Jim" A. Jenkins

James “Jim” A. Jenkins, 73, of Shawnee, Oklahoma passed away Saturday, May 23 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

He was born December 11, 1952, in Holdenville, Oklahoma to Dale Keith Jenkins, Sr. and Agnes “Ruth” (Mathis) Jenkins.

He graduated from Holdenville High School in 1971. He attended Connors State College in Warner, Oklahoma and then attended Oklahoma State University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in agricultural education. He then earned a Master of Science degree from Oklahoma State University and later passed the administrator certification exam.

He served on the Oklahoma state FFA officer team as southeast district vice president from 1971-72. After college, he took his first job as an agricultural education instructor and FFA advisor at Liberty Mounds. He then began teaching in Thomas where he met the love of his life, Sharon Atteberry.

Jim and Sharon were married July 2, 1977, in Ponca City. After the couple wed, they moved to Blackwell where he again taught agricultural education and also earned his real estate license and auctioneering license. In 1987, he moved to Bethel Acres where he taught for 26 years with the first 10 years as the agricultural education and FFA advisor and continued teaching various science classes until his retirement from teaching in 2013. He then finished his time at Bethel writing grants to help fund special projects for the school. He later moved into Shawnee where he enjoyed retirement.

He was a member of the Bethel United Methodist Church where he served as a lay leader, served on various committees and enjoyed fellowship with the men’s ministry. He led the annual Christmas food and clothing project where numerous families in the Bethel community received Christmas baskets.

With a true servant’s heart, he volunteered to pick up food distributions from the Regional Food Bank and delivered them to the school for the backpack program. He also volunteered at Shawnee Forward where he researched economic development opportunities for the community.

Even after retirement, he remained a passionate supporter of the FFA program and enjoyed serving the community. He had a genuine love for teaching, for his students and for helping people. However, his greatest love was for his wife, their two daughters, and granddaughter. He cherished his time with family and friends and always looked forward to watching OSU sports.

He was preceded in death by his parents.

Survivors include his wife of nearly 49 years, Sharon Jenkins of the home; daughter and son-in-law, Jamie and Dennis Dukes of Prague; daughter, Amy Jenkins of Shawnee; granddaughter, Shelby Dukes of Oklahoma City; unborn great-granddaughter, Jaylin Dukes; brother and sister-in-law, Dale Jenkins, Jr. and Robin of Holdenville; sister and brother-in-law, Karen and Mike Goodman of Oklahoma City; sister, Jayne Cox of Tulsa; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.

Visitation will be held 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Thursday May 28, 2026, continuing through to service time at Cooper Funeral Home with family gathering to greet friends and loved ones from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Funeral service will be held at 2:00 p.m. Friday May 29, 2026, at New Hope Baptist Church, Tecumseh, with Bro.Tim Emmons officiating. Burial to follow at Tecumseh Cemetery under the direction of Cooper Funeral Home.