CHARLOTTE, N.C. — James Frederic Sprouse, 81, passed away peacefully with his family by his side on Tuesday, June 24, 2025, in Charlotte, North Carolina.
James, affectionately known as “Jim” to his friends and “Boppa” to his children and grandchildren, was born on Dec. 3, 1943, in Oswego to Frank Buzz Sprouse and Alma Imogen Ingram. Jim grew up in the rural farming community of Chetopa. In 1961, he graduated from Chetopa High School, where he played basketball and baseball for the Chetopa Hornets. After high school, Jim attended Pittsburg State University, where he earned a bachelor of science degree in chemistry and mathematics in 1965. Following his undergraduate degree, Jim attended the Graduate Institute of Technology at the University of Arkansas, where he was awarded a master of science degree in 1968 and a Ph.D. in 1972.
Jim married his high school sweetheart and love of his life, Judith Kay Exum, on Aug. 24, 1963. Jim and Judy were lifelong companions and the proud parents of four children, Julie Denise, James Douglas, Gregory Thomas and Cynthia Ann Sprouse. In 1972, Jim and Judy moved to Panama, where Jim started his career as a research chemist with the United States Army Materials and Mechanics Center in the Panama Canal Zone. Upon returning to the United States, they moved to Milford, Massachusetts, and then to Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, where Jim worked as the technical director for Sadtler Research Laboratories, Bio-Rad Corp. In 1985, Jim opened his own company, Sprouse Scientific Systems Inc., where he provided consulting services to the chemical, polymer and environmental industries. Jim was proud to be president and CEO of his own company, but most of all enjoyed working alongside his wife, Judy, who helped run the family business. In 1993, they moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, where Jim worked for several years as the general manager/chief scientist for Flow Vision Inc. and then as quality director and corporate board member of InChem Corp., from which he retired in December 2021.
In addition to his 40-plus-year career as a chemist, Jim also enjoyed many hobbies, including golf, which he regularly played with his dear friends. Jim especially loved their frequent golf trips to the Big J and Cheraw State Park. But more than anything, Jim loved to spend time with his wife, children and four grandchildren, Devory James and Sophia Grace Handog and Samantha Rosalie and Blair Corinne Sprouse. They will always remember and cherish the many family vacations, road trips and holidays spent together and in the company of their beloved Boppa.
Jim was preceded in death by his beautiful daughter, Julie; and is survived by his wife, Judy; his sons, Douglas and his wife, Mandi Toy, and Gregory Sprouse and his wife, Mandy; his daughter, Cynthia and her husband, Mark Handog; his four grandchildren, Devory, Sophia, Samantha and Blair; his brothers and sisters-in-law, Ron and Dorothy and Rollie and Alice; his many nieces and nephews; and his many, many, dear friends who have always been there for him and his family through the good times and the bad.
Jim will be remembered by all for his unconditional love, his limitless generosity, his sociable personality and his eternal desire to make those around him smile. In lieu of flowers, the family requests those who wish to express sympathy to consider making a memorial gift in Jim’s name to the National Park Foundation (give.nationalparks.org) or the National Parks Conservation Association (support.npca.org).
A celebration of Jim’s life will be at a later date at the Sprouse family home in Charlotte, North Carolina, and at the Mae Lessley Community Center in Chetopa.
