Jim Quisenberry — second-generation owner of Johnson, Depp, and Quisenberry Consulting Engineers — died Saturday in Hospice Care. He turned 88 years old on Feb. 3, 2022.
Jim, the son of E.S. Quisenberry, came on staff at JDQ in 1960, and after working with his father for several years, he become owner along with the other partners.
Jim would later sell his share in the business and eventually, it would be bought by his son and daughter-in-law Tab and Vicki Quisenberry. Although the business closed, the property stayed in the family. Reflecting on that time, Vicki said on Monday that she and Tab were able to see the work Jim had put into the family business.
“We took some time and he helped me clean out a lot of files for the business,” Vicki said. “I’m so glad I got to have that time with my father-in-law.”
Vicki recounted that Jim had an interesting tenure with JDQ, as he worked on a wide range of projects including the Owensboro Beltline. His experience in engineering took him to eventually work a 4-year stint in Venezuela on a pipeline project.
She said Jim mostly focused on business management for the company but noted his work was extremely important for the company and for several states.
Vicki said the family got together to celebrate Jim’s 88th birthday on Feb. 3, and the next day he was checked into a hospital. By the next Monday, he was released to Hospice of Western Kentucky.
When Jim was in the hospital, Vicki said she was reminded of her father-in-law’s quick wit by a few of the staff in Hospice.
“They would say, ‘your father-in-law has a quick wit, he has a good sense of humor,’ and it’s true, he was fun to be around,” Vicki said. “He was just a great man to us and for the city, he had a great life and we are very blessed to know him.”
Vicki said that after his funeral, Jim will be cremated and added to his longtime church First Christian Church’s columbarium.
