The best known and one of the most highly esteemed men in Kaufman County passed away suddenly of a heart seizure Tuesday morning at 3:30 o'clock at his home.

He was Jim E. Yates, county tax assessor-collector of Kaufman County since January 1, 1939.

Jim - who could find no fault with anyone - was laid to rest at the Kaufman Cemetery Wednesday afternoon, following rites at 2:00 o'clock in the Allan W. Dees Funeral Chapel in Kaufman.

The Rev. E.H. Dickerson, pastor of the First Baptist Church, of which Mr. Yates was a faithful member, and the Rev. Claude Pearce, pastor of the First Christian Church, officiated.

Mr. Yates was born in Forney on January 13, 1881. He came to Kaufman in 1910 as an assistant in the office of the county clerk. From 1914 until 1917 he was superintendent of the Kaufman Compress Company, a position he resigned to become county auditor of Kaufman County.

In 1937 he became a deputy in the office of County Tax Assessor-Collector Walter Beard, and after Mr. Beard's death he continued as a deputy during the tenure of office held by Mrs. Beard. He took the oath of office on January 1, 1939 as assessor-collector and held the office continuously.

A charter member of the Kaufman Lions Club, Mr. Yates served the organization for 27 years as secretary - record in Lions International. He had been active in many capacities during his lifetime, having previously served as secretary of the Board of Education in Kaufman for 25 years. For many years he was secretary of the Board of the First Baptist Church.

He was a member of the Bloomfield Masonic Lodge in Kaufman and had been a Mason for a half-century.

Mr. Yates was blessed with an unusually fine singing voice and he gave of his talents for many years by singing in quartets and choirs at funerals, church services and other occasions.

He considered everyone his friend - and rightly so - and was always on hand to give comfort to those who had lost a friend. His natural love of people took him to every part of Kaufman County on occasions of community gatherings, funerals, and special events. He did this because he wanted to - never for political gain.

Jim slipped away just as he might have willed it - quickly and without an illness that could have required the care of his family or others, however loving and willing.

Surviving Mr. Yates are his devoted wife, Mamie; two sons, Max Yates of Kaufman and Pete Yates of Menard; two daughters, Mrs. Horace Spencer, who is city secretary of Kaufman, and Mrs. Louis Nash; six grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

Note: James Ell Yates is buried at the Kaufman City Cemetery. According to the Texas Death Index, he died September 15, 1959 in Kaufman County.