Jim Delmore

James Edward "Jim" Delmore Jr., 88, of Idaho Falls, passed away October 20, 2025, at his home. He was under the care of Hospice of Eastern Idaho.

Jim was born September 9, 1937, in St. Louis, MO, to James Edward Delmore Sr. and Julia Emma Schmidt Delmore.

On February 25, 2010, Jim married the love of his life, Jacalyn "Jackie" Ramsthaler Stephens. Together, we planned and built our home in Idaho Falls.

Jim was extremely proud of his five daughters, Donna (Art) Flores of Tucson AZ, Debbie (Lee) Barton of Idaho Falls ID, Laura (David) Kennell of Phoenix AZ, Liz (Scott) Nicolino of Vashon WA, and Jami Delmore of Boise ID. He is also survived by his beloved sisters, Carolyn Zornada of Chesterfield, MO, and Julie Tharp of St. Charles, IL, and his ten grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren.

Jim was a scientist and inventor. He earned his doctorate in chemistry at Columbia University in Illinois in 1966 and began working at the INL (then known as the National Reactor Testing Station). He worked at INL for almost 50 years and loved every minute of it. He was known as an innovator in Mass Spectrometry and its applications. He published many scientific papers and received numerous commendations and awards. In 2006, Jim achieved the highest technical level available to scientists at INL when he was named a Laboratory Fellow, but one of his greatest strengths was his willingness and ability to share his knowledge with young scientists following in his footsteps.

Jim was an animal lover, and both Jim and Jackie credited their dogs for bringing them together. He leaves behind his dogs, Scooter, and Poptart, and cat, Pepper. Besides loving his own pets, Jim contributed to animal welfare. He previously served on the boards of both Snake River Animal Shelter and Bonneville Humane Society.

He was also an exceptional woodworker. One of his most prized possessions was his shop filled with every kind of tool imaginable. He filled both of our homes in Idaho Falls and in Island Park with his gorgeous creations and contributed many items to charity and family members.

Jim was also a dedicated Democrat. He was on the editorial board of the Post Register for several years and contributed countless editorials promoting Democratic values.

In his younger years, he loved skiing, hiking and sharing the cabin he built in Island Park with his family and friends.

Most of all, to me, his wife, Jim was a wonderful husband and my best friend. We both felt incredibly lucky that we found each other and that we had the chance to spend the last 20 years together.