After retirement, Jess did day work for ranchers until it began interfering with his passion for team roping, a sport in which he truly excelled. Jess roped calves in his younger years but later focused on team roping. In 1997, he won $27,000 at a USTRC event, roping on two horses he trained himself. Over the years, he earned 40 buckles and nine saddles, generously giving away many of those buckles. We say goodbye to a rancher, a horseman, a father, and a keeper of a disappearing way of life. Jess is survived by his five children, nine grandchildren, and nineteen great grandchildren.