Jimmy's last boat was a cable layer. He enjoyed the experience - had never been on a cable boat. Got home for Halloween and shortly there after decided after four plus decades at sea, it was time. He had turned in his retirement papers. Over the Thanksgiving Holiday he went to bed at night and as all seamen know.... Sometimes it just ain't worth gettin' outa' bed in the morning.
May God Rest his soul... we will miss him but he will live on in the sea stories. Never heard an ill word spoken of Jimmy.
Reminiscing at the hotel this evening. Admiralty Law Attorney Jules Masse in attendance, Everyone remembered his ability to run a column of numbers in his head faster than we could do it with a calculator. Spoke with his daughter Crystal and let her know that aboard ship, all he would do was brag about how proud he was of his kids. He had reason to be.
I'll have to speak with his son someday though. He had a Boyscout project to build a soapbox derby car. Jimmy spent every spare moment of the tour sanding that thing to a smooth finish. What we do for the ones we love.
I hate making these phone calls because it saddens my heart and I'm not good at it.
For those of you who Jimmy took under his wing as green 3rds out of school. If it weren't for men like Jimmy and Joe Fraley and Ed Sidlowe we wouldn't be where we are today. He is gone but his family needs help grieving. You all have stories to share. In the next few weeks, suck it up and give Audrey and the kids a call. We owe it to the Big Man.
For those of you who met him later in life - when I first met Jimmy, he weighed in as a scrawny F@#$ at about 150 pounds. He needed the extra space to make room for the heart he had.
Tom Millett
