The Real “Jimbo” (Jim Beau of Dubuque)

Jim Beau

Today I got to meet a real life “Jimbo!”  While his name is spelled “Jim Beau”, it is pronounced the same.  Jim grew up with a unique name that people would never forget, now he buys his vehicles at a dealership that he will never forget.  Every once in a while you run into someone who has a unique name. The name Jim Beau is certainly pretty cool, although maybe not as extreme as someone named, like say … Rumpelstiltskin. 

Did you have a hard time growing up with the name Jim Beau?
People always commented about it. When they got tired of “Jim Beau” people would call me Jim Bowie, like the guy with the knife at the Alamo.

What brought you into Runde’s?
I came in for someone to configure my Bluetooth for the new Equinox I just bought… man, that was a great deal. I just started looking for one, and then I saw it on your website so I called Al and he said that he’d have it ready for me to look at. And sure enough right when I came in the vehicle was all cleaned and ready for me to try out. Couldn’t beat the price or the service.

What made you go with the Equinox?
I like the Equinox because it’s very spacious and I don’t bang my knee trying to get in and out of the vehicle. The white color is easy to keep clean, too.

What is it about Runde’s that makes you come to us?
It’s the service, it’s great. The salesmen bend over backwards to help you.

Are you from the area?
I’m from Dubuque. I retired from John Deere over 9 years ago working the line.

What do you like to do in your free time?
Right now I’m just kind of goofing off and having fun. I volunteer at the Red Cross once a week. Other than that I go out and walk, enjoy nature and the weather.

Any family?
I have two girls; one just got married and lives in Phoenix, AZ. They actually came up here and got married in at St. Joes in Key-West. My other daughter is a nurse up at St. Francis, she does ultra-sounds and things like that. We all get together every so often.

What’s the most important invention conceived during your lifetime?
Probably all of our cures for cancer and all the trips into space.  It’s something how they get all that stuff figured out.

Are you more of a winter guy or summer guy?
Summer. Winter I’ll just be stuck inside all day.

If you were to win the lottery, what would you do with the money?
Probably spend it with the kids, maybe buy a house, might move to Arizona to live close to my daughter.

What kind of movies are you into?
Usually I just like to watch Turner Classic Movies (TCM) with the classics.  Some westerns and mostly war movies. Also English themed movies are a really good watch.

I heard Al talking about you being in the service?
I was in the Air Force in the 60’s during Vietnam. I went to Guam for about 5 months working on B-52’s.

What kind of work would you do on them?
I worked on sheet metal… fixing the popped rivets, flexing, cracks, etc. We didn’t do repairs to gun holes or anything like that. It was definitely interesting.

Any interesting stories?
When I was stationed in South Dakota they wouldn’t allow Coors beer to be sold in the state. So we’d have to cross the line into Colorado to get it. We used to haul a bunch of it over.

What would you say is your favorite decade?
I’d probably say the 70’s was my favorite. I was out of the service in ’67 and just got a job at Kelly’s Springfield down in Freeport, IL making rubber for tires. I was there for four years, and was out celebrating all the time in East Dubuque.

You lived in Dubuque most of your life it seems, are your parents from the area as well?
Yep, I’ve lived here all my life and my parents lived here as well.

Any hidden treasures in Dubuque that Jim Beau would like to share with us being a Dubuque Resident all your life?
Murphy Park off of Grand View Avenue is a very pretty place with a great view that not too many people would know about.

If you were to rate Runde’s on a scale of 1-10, what would you give it?
A 10, it was a great experience.  They take care of me very well. And the service department here is phenomenal.

Thanks for all the kind words Jim!  Runde Chevrolet is glad to have you as part of our family and we hope you enjoy your Equinox!