Jim Elder was an impoverished youth from Arkansas who came to Kern County after service in the US Navy. Jim had only a 5th grade education when he left Arkansas. After his military service, Jim attended night school to become a chemist. Jim came to Bakersfield in the early 1960s and he and his wife Elouise built a successful business in East Bakersfield Sequoia Paint. With Jim and Elouises passing…