Big Jim grew up in Indiana. He moved to Utah after serving in the Vietnam War. Prior to my birth, he struggled with mental health and alcohol addiction. After I was born, he became sober and spent the next ten years speaking at high schools and colleges about addiction and mental illness. He was the head of the PTA at my elementary school, and a homeroom substitute teacher for many years. He owned a painting business and could cut a paint line better than anyone I had ever known. He sponsored more than 200 individuals while working with Alcoholics Anonymous. He was an incredibly authentic man who connected with other humans in a way I have never seen before.
In Jan of 2008, he started feeling Ill. After several months, he visited the doctor and found that he had end-stage liver failure caused by alcohol cirrhosis and an autoimmune disease. Even though he quit many years ago, the damage had already been done. He was listed for a liver transplant in March of 2009.
My dad was bold. He was full of life. Loud-mouthed and brazen. He loved music, BBQ, and the Chicago Bears. He was hilarious ALL THE TIME. He loved having people around him, and although I was his only biological child, he spent his life raising everyone else’s kids too. The ones whose parents weren’t around. Stepchildren, grandchildren, and adopted children. Adults who were kids at heart needed a safe place to stay. He gave all people second and third chances and saw the best in everyone. He was my father for an amazing 31 years. He was my first true love.
Big Jim died on August 25, 2013, while waiting for a liver transplant.
-Tif Blue, Jim's Daughter
