A Life Fully Lived

Jim graduated from Alexander Ramsey High School in Roseville, MN; received his undergraduate degree in Mathematics from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities; his Master's degree in Physics from the University of Minnesota-Duluth, and his Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics from the University of Wyoming in Laramie.

After stints teaching and doing research at the Universities of Wyoming and North Dakota State, the majority of Jim's career was spent as a Theoretical Physicist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Boulder, CO, where he loved his work and was able to do groundbreaking work on a number of fronts. He was in the process of writing a book about his work.

Jim and his wife, Karen, were married in June, 1979. They were blessed with two wonderful children, a son, Duff, born in 1986, and a daughter, Aquene, born in 1991.

Besides his work and family, Jim had a lifelong love affair with the outdoors, as manifested in his activities of canoeing (including competitive whitewater canoeing), camping, fishing, biking, snowshoeing, and climbing.

Jim died in a tragic and improbable accident on December 31, 2011, when a high gust of wind blew a branch just 3-feet long and 3 inches in diameter through the windshield of his car, as he and his wife, Karen, were returning home to Longmont from Boulder. The branch slammed into his chest and he maintained consciousness long enough to steer the car to the shoulder and stop, saving his wife and other motorists from a possible collision.

To say that Jim is sorely missed by his family, colleagues, and many friends is an understatement.

In the last several years, Jim had taken to signing off his emails to his siblings with "Jimmy B." Long live the memory of Jimmy B!

Saturday, January 28, 2012

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.

So out of life the splendor dies;
So darken all the happy skies;
So gathers twilight, cold and stern.
But overhead the planets burn;

And up the east another day
Shall chase the bitter dark away;
What though our eyes with tears be wet?
The sunrise never failed us yet.

The blush of dawn may yet restore
Our light and hope and joy once more:
Sad soul, take comfort, nor forget
That sunrise never failed us yet.
~~~~~~~~~~

I am so thankful for the fact that the "sunrise never failed us yet," as God has promised us: "As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease." (Genesis 8:22)
I love you, Uncle Jimmy!
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