James “Jim” Robert Cloutier

James “Jim” Robert Cloutier, 78, of Niceville, FL, died surrounded by his loving family on November 24, 2025, after an extended illness.

Jim was born in Opelousas, LA, on March 19, 1947, to Andrew and Carmena (Mizzi) Cloutier, and he developed a lifelong love of learning from his parents who were secondary educators. He was baptized at St. Landry Catholic Church in Opelousas. When Jim was growing up, his dad built a free-standing basketball goal on a telephone pole by the garden, and he shot goals every day the weather permitted. He went on to play varsity basketball at Opelousas Senior High School and in college. He played clarinet in the high school band and taught himself to play the piano. He studied mathematics at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in Lafayette, LA, and obtained his master’s degree and doctorate in advanced mathematics (control theory) at Rice University in Houston, TX.

Jim spent his career as a distinguished civil servant. He was a research scientist at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Dahlgren, VA, the Naval Oceanographic Office in Stennis Space Center, MS, and the Air Force Research Laboratory at Eglin AFB, FL. He produced many innovations in the field of missile guidance and control systems, with more than 70 scholarly publications and three patents. He spent the last 17 years of his career as a contractor, most recently with Torch Technologies, and he thoroughly enjoyed his work up until he retired in September 2024.

Jim married his beloved wife Joan on May 29, 1976, at Our Lady of the Fields Church in Millersville, MD. Jim and Joan moved to Niceville in 1983, and Jim oversaw the building of their home on the golf course at Rocky Bayou. They were blessed with five children: Chris, Sharla, Christa, Renee, and Chase. As a parishioner of Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church, Jim was involved with the Knights of Columbus pro-life ministry, Life Runners, and many parish ministries, including Niceville Catholic Outreach, Stephen Ministries, welcome ministry, ushers, and the prayer line. He was a man of deep faith, love, and prayer.

Jim was an avid golfer. He taught himself and all of his kids to play golf and served as a golf team coach, as well as a basketball team coach. He enjoyed traveling across the country with his family, especially to National Parks and for ski vacations. In their younger days Jim and Joan had private pilot’s licenses and enjoyed flying together. Jim’s first priority was always to let his family know how much he loved them.

Jim liked to work crossword puzzles, tell jokes, watch movies, and cheer for LSU football and women's basketball. He was a Cajun who liked rice, spicy food, and a good bowl of gumbo.

Jim was preceded in death by his parents, Andrew and Carmena, oldest brother baby Paul Cloutier, sister Carmena (Sam) Goss, great aunt Nina “Auntie” Mizzi, stepmother Marjorie Nelson Willis Cloutier, stepbrother James Willis, baby Chris Cloutier, and grandbabies Benedicta, Joseph, and Vincent Engelhart and Paolo Ardito. He is survived by his wife of 49 years, Joan; children, Sharla (Chris) Engelhart, Christa (Nick) Ardito, Renee (Joshua) Dupuy, and Chase (Rachel) Cloutier; grandchildren, Anna and Lucy Engelhart, Augustine and Carmena Ardito, Fulton, Levi, Peter, and Magdala Dupuy, and Eleanor, Henry, and Caroline Cloutier; brother Paul (Kaye) Cloutier, stepbrother Tommy Willis, and stepsister Nancy Willis; niece Niki (Trey) Little and nephews Andrew (Leigh Ann) Cloutier, Barry (Sydney) Goss, and David (Celina) Goss; and numerous in-laws.

The funeral service will be Wednesday, December 10, 2025, at Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church in Niceville, with visitation at 9:30am and funeral Mass at 10:30am, followed by a reception. Private burial will be at Heritage Gardens Cemetery in Niceville. To honor Jim's passion for pro-life and help moms and babies in need, please send donations to the Fort Walton Beach Center for Women (https://www.zeffy.com/donation-form/donate-to-make-a-difference-11329 or make checks out to LIFE Inc and mail to LIFE Inc, P.O. Box 2171, Fort Walton Beach, FL 32549).

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