Services will be held at a future date for 97-year old James “Bill” Phelps of Crawford.
Online condolences may be left at chamberlainchapel.com
James W “Bill” Phelps was born in Bellevue, Nebraska on November 18, 1926 to John Orwen Phelps and Signe Emelia (Peterson) Phelps. He passed away at Chadron Community Hospital on January 30, 2024.
Bill was a veteran of the US Navy, having served from 1944 to 1946. Taking advantage of the GI Bill, he graduated with a degree in electrical engineering from Iowa State University in 1951. Bill worked for Bell Laboratories from graduation until his retirement in 1983.
Bill was an avid horseman having bred and raised American Quarter Horses for over 4 decades. He was famed for his passion for the breed and his legacy lives on in the many horses born to Phelps Quarter Horses. He owned ranches in Longmont and Hudson, CO, and Belmont, NE.
Bill is survived by his son John Phelps and daughter-in-law Kate Luby-Phelps of Arlington, TX; his daughter Kris Phelps of Houston, TX; and his daughter Leigh Koldeway of Firestone, CO.
He is also survived by his 2 sisters, 4 grandchildren, 2 great-grandchildren, and many nieces, nephews, and great-nieces and great-nephews.
Chamberlain Chapel of Chadron is in charge of arrangements for Bill Miller.