Poem posted by Jim's niece, Teresa Nuckols

Here is a poem that I came across the day that Jim died.
~~~~~~~~~~
NEVER FAILED US
By Celia Thaxter

Upon the sadness of the sea,
The sunset broods regretfully;
From the far, lonely spaces, slow

Withdraws the wistful afterglow.

"Oh, Jimmy" (poem by Joe Baker)

          Oh, Jimmy

Tonight I will dream of the wind.

"Like Mountains" (poem for Jim by Joe Baker)

         Like Mountains

I searched for you on the cracked and aching mountain
And stood at the jagged edge.

"Light" (poem for Jim by Joe Baker)

          Light

I am a pilgrim
On a deserted highway
Cut through the high plains

The Coldest Night, and a Boat Ride, by John Grosvenor

I have some great memories of Jim and a couple of stories to share.

Jim and I had become very well acquainted while working together in the Electromagnetic Properties of Materials group at NBS/NIST.

I actually helped him wire the house that he and Karen built in Lyons. My name, along with Jim’s, is somewhere under the sheetrock in the living room of their house

I remember when Jim bought the land. I even considered buying a piece of property close to the one they have. One of the toughest and shortest motorcycle rides I ever took was on my Harley Sportster – just up and then, very, very carefully, back down the steep driveway leading to their house in Lyons…and they weren’t even home!

Eulogy by Jim's father-in-law, Art Jarvis

(Art had prepared this eulogy to read at the funeral but decided not to because there had already been a lot of speakers. When we heard it afterwards, we knew we wanted to share it with all of you via the blog.)

I first met Jim in mid-June of 1979 when my daughter – affectionately holding the hand of a bearded young man – said, “Dad, I’d like you to meet my friend Jim Baker, we’re getting married on the 17th!”

Eulogy by Jim's colleague, Bill Riddle

Hello – my name is Bill, and I’m an engineer at NIST. I worked with Jim for almost 20 years, and I would like to share with you some memories of my good friend.

In the many years that Jim and I worked together, we collaborated on several technical projects, but we also developed a very close personal relationship.

Memories of Jim by his sister, Rosemary Nuckols

(Rose was unable to make the trip to Colorado for the funeral, due to illness in her family.)

Blue eyes that danced with a mischievous glint, and expressed compassion, gentleness, humility, love and shyness at times...the essence of Jim’s character struck me as the devastating news of his death sunk in. I am so thankful for the unique and special person God created when He made Jim. I feel privileged to have been in the middle of our large family, with Jim only 4 years older than me.

Memories of Jim by his brother, Bill Baker

(Bill was unable to travel to Colorado for the funeral, due to recent surgery.)

Jimmy was the 4th boy of our family of ten kids. We older brothers would tease him about being the baby boy, until our youngest brother Joey was born. He hated that and would return ferocious looks at us, but he was such a sweet, good-natured kid that all was forgiven.

Eulogy by Jim's brother, Joe Baker

My name is Joe, and I’d like to share with you a little bit about Jim through the eyes of a little brother.

It seems that in a lifetime a person will meet a very few—a handful—of individuals that really strike you, that have a way about them that leaves a permanent impression on you. These are those unique people that open your mind to other ways of thinking. Those rare people that you know you will never forget. My brother Jim was one of those.

Jim is about 12 years older than me, so in my earliest memories he was already busily engaged in a young man’s life, so I didn’t see him around the house too much. Often I didn’t know or understand where he was, I just knew he was out there—way out there, in every sense. Maybe he was way out on some remote river or mountain, or just way out in his thinking. I think this is what drew people to Jim—you could always expect something different from him, and he always came through in that.

Eulogy by Jim's brother, Tom Baker

J I M M Y

I have a photograph of Jim on my desk at work. It is a picture that I had taken circa 1971 and it shows Jim standing in the doorway of a boxcar, smoking a small cigar, his eyes focused distantly at the horizon where the fields of North Dakota meet the sky. Sometimes, when I look at it, it reminds me of another time and place.