James E. ”Jim” Cash, Jr. entered into rest on Sunday, March 8, 2026, in Mountain Home, Arkansas. Jim was born in Batesville, Arkansas, on September 22, 1943, to James E Cash and Dora Edna Storey Cash. He was a member of the First Baptist Church in Mountain View, Arkansas.
Jim was a 1961 graduate of Mountain View High School. He spent a lifetime hunting, fishing, and loving the outdoors. Jim was a natural athlete and was inducted into the MVHS Hall of Fame in 2024. He excelled as a young man at basketball and was a four-year letterman as the leading rebounder for the high school team. He also led the Yellow Jackets as a ”southpaw,” throwing many no-hitters during his baseball career. From 1958 through 1964, Jim played on the American Legion Baseball team out of Batesville, Arkansas. Many scouts followed him during his American Legion career. He was offered positions in professional baseball by the Milwaukee Braves, later the Milwaukee Brewers. Jim went on to attend Ouachita Baptist University on a baseball scholarship. He then returned to Mountain View to marry the love of his life, Patsy Decker, and to this union, three children were born.
Throughout Jim’s life, he gave many service hours to his community that he loved. Jim and Pat were active members in the Mountain View Jaycees, along with many friends, volunteering their time and hard work to build the baseball field that is still used today. Jim served the Mountain View Volunteer Fire Department, the Stone County Sheriff’s Office as a deputy and juvenile officer, and two terms as the mayor of Mountain View, where he secured a one percent sales tax for the city. Until his death, he remained interested in the city government, regularly checking to see how much revenue the tax was still generating.
While serving his community, he also owned a business buying and selling pulpwood from 1968 to 1984. In 1984, Jim and Pat built Cash’s White River Hoedown, Mountain View’s first country music and comedy show. For 28 years, they provided local entertainment, drawing people from all over the United States to Mountain View. As mayor, Jim worked hard to bring industry and tourism to the community to provide jobs. In 1990, accompanied by Governor Bill Clinton, Jim placed a 100-year time capsule on the west end of the courthouse, which still stands today.
Jim Cash will be missed by many. He had a very colorful group of friends, made up of people of all ages and walks of life. Later in life, he started golfing, which he enjoyed because it allowed him to spend time with lifelong friends. He loved people as much as he loved driving his Razorback red truck. Up until his death, he enjoyed making ”circles,” visiting friends throughout the county.
He was preceded in death by his parents; his son, Jim Ed Cash; his grandson, DJ Binnie; and his brother-in-law, Benny Decker.
Jim is survived by his wife, Pat Cash, of the home; two daughters, Pamela Ann (Jake Dobbins) and Jana Kay (Brent Wickham); four grandchildren, Laramie Dobbins, Will Cody Dobbins, Trent Wickham, and Garrett Wickham, all of Mountain View; one great-granddaughter, Kaisley Ray Binnie of Viola; one sister, Beverly Looney of Greenbrier; sister-in-law, Mavis Avey Decker of Mountain View; and two cousins, Billy Joe Cash of Willow Springs, Missouri, and ”Sonny” Eddie Cash of Jefferson City, Missouri. He is also survived by three nieces, one nephew, and a host of relatives and friends.
Memorials may be made to the Stone County Historical Society and/or the Mountain View Iris Society.
