Having served with Jim on the school board, worked with him for several years at Fairfax Implement Co., and had children in the same grade at school, I was fortunate to have spent a fair amount of time with Jim. He was a perfect fit for the school board. I can't remember how many times I heard him say, "Let me play devil's advocate", or words to that effect, when seeking to stimulate a discussion to consider all of the possibilities and repercussions of a decision. On a personal level I believe we had a few discussions of a political nature, and I always went away from those feeling that he had put forth the better argument. Even so, he was not one to drown out an opposing view, but instead seemed to invite it so that it could be analyzed and discussed. I sat with Jim at Cecil Baker's funeral service a couple of years ago, and Jim shared a nice memory of Cecil while Jim was the Service Manager at Fairfax Implement. I hope in some small way the family is somewhat comforted by my simple tribute to Jim in this message, a man I considered my friend.