(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.
It was fun to experience the enthusiasm and exuberance of Jim at Christmas and summer vacations. As a younger sister, Jim always seemed very adventurous, and I loved when Jim and our brother, Tom, would include me on some of their adventures exploring the woods and pond in our neighborhood, and catching frogs and fishing at Silver Lake. Jim had lots of theories, even about the best ways to catch fish...I should have known he’d become a scientist when he grew up.
Jim added lots of fun to our family with his mischievous humor. He was delighted when he could scare a neighbor kid by making a funny face, or when he’d tell his younger siblings tales of the mysterious “Mr. Chow” in our basement, or the time he was scratching on the outside of the family lake cabin in the middle of the night to scare a fellow University forestry student into thinking that there were bears outside.
Sometimes when Mom and Dad were gone for the evening Jim would cook up a batch of peanut brittle, divinity, or vinegar candy, which we all delighted in. Or, on some of those hot summer evenings he’d start up a water fight with the hose, which all of us kids joined in with gusto.
In my late teens and early twenties I was privileged to go on several more adventures with Jim – some camping and family canoe trips where we often slept under the stars, a backpacking trip to Rocky Mountain National Park, and a freight train trip to Fargo, North Dakota. Jim was always cheerful and fun on these trips and often liked cooking over the campfire. Jim was so natural in the outdoors and could make himself comfortable in any circumstance. I was surprised to learn on a camping trip that Jim enjoyed pondering math equations in the woods, which was beyond my comprehension.
When Jim was in high school I remember seeing that he tacked a copy of the poem, “Don’t Quit,” by Edgar A. Guest on a wall in his bedroom. I liked the poem and even then was impressed with Jim’s perseverance, as I saw him do gymnastics on the horse and in cross country running. Through the years I saw that perseverance was evident in his life as he challenged himself on mountain climbing trips, biking from Minnesota to the west coast, whitewater canoeing, and continuing an education to achieve a Ph.D. in physics. I know it meant so much to Jim to have his wife, Karen, who enjoyed so many outdoor adventures along with him. Together, they instilled that love of the outdoors in their children.
I’m sure that Jim would want his family and all of his loved ones to persevere throughout all of the ups and downs of life. Life is a gift from God, and I thank God for the great gift of having Jim for a brother. I have been blessed greatly by the many wonderful character traits of my brother Jim. Thanks, Jim.
Love from your sister, Rose
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