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

"Oh, Jimmy" (poem by Joe Baker)

          Oh, Jimmy

Tonight I will dream of the wind.

I will dream of a land ravaged,

Trees bent and battered and in a timeless, raging gale;

Limbs twisting in agony.

A branch—a stick, really

Will break from its tree.

It will toss in the air, striking other branches, tearing off twigs.

It will tumble through the gray, howling sky

Toward a highway.

A car will approach, driven by a man.

         This man climbs wild mountains

         Over ice and stone above the tree line.

He will wrap his fingers tightly around the wheel as he steers through the buffeting wind.

         This man runs winding paths

         In the cool shade of deep forests.

The branch will hurl through the air and hit the windshield on-end.

         This man paddles untamed rivers

         That cut through forested banks and ancient earth.

The branch will break through the glass and strike the man in the chest.

         This man loves his family

         This man loves.

His heart is strong

The wind is stronger

Tonight I will dream that the wind sweeps down and steals my brother’s heart.
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