Monday, July 22, 2024
Well, where to start. I wore a much younger man's clothes when Jim and I met as roomies at DEP's SMVTI office. My first reaction to Jim was "man he knows a lot" as he was more than willing to share his knowledge of the way things worked if I asked. Jim was an outdoorsman as I suppose all us DEP'ers were but that first year he invited me up to "camp" with Tom Varney, Wes Smith and him. We went to Tom's place as Jim's camp wasn't even dreamed of yet. Tom's camp at the time was quite rustic so I was sure glad when Jim bought his beautiful camp that he and his family still enjoy to this day. If you could have asked Jim, he would have preferred to spend his last moments in no other place. Fast forward a couple years and Jim and Brenda (yes mostly Brenda) helped me write my proposal poem that I read live on WBLM (way before it was a thing, yes trendsetters) to ask for Ann's hand in marriage. I still have that poem. Fast forward another 35 years and "the camp gang" still was going upta camp with Jim, and happy to do it! Jim was a card shark at camp, but he was also the camp cook for 25 years and he was most good at it. He was thrifty too! We could eat the entire weekend with Jim planning and cooking for about $20 a person, far cheaper than when the next cook, Lou, took over. I will be forever indebted to Jim for his hospitality at camp, for bringing his family to us to get a glimpse of his home life (first Chris, then Andrew, also for hosting my son and Doug's one spring weekend to fish) which was no walk in the park with the events that go on at camp, and for just being so enamored with his camp (his pride) and allowing us all to be a part of that which he loved so dearly. RIP Jim, your memories will live on in all of us-family and friends.
