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berkly
Nov 28, 2006, 2:45 PM
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I think andrea expressed the emotions everyone is feeling very well. It hurts me deeply to know jimmy is gone. He was more than a friend to me, he was a mentor. He was a teacher with a wealth of knowledge and inspiration. He taught me techniques no book could ever convey. I relished every opportunity to climb with jimmy as it was a privilege to be in his presence.
He always wanted to know everything i was doing , congratulated me on my successes and helped me learn from my failures.
His passion for life is something I will always remember and strive to attain.
You will be missed Jimmy Ray
Christopher Marks
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photonicgirl
Nov 28, 2006, 2:46 PM
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Jimmy was a most amazing guy, we loved him and will miss him very much.
Jules
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mario
Nov 28, 2006, 2:55 PM
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Jimmys Sister. I would like to give my respects to you and family. I have known your brother for many years, it was always nice seeing him. I remember some of the routes he ticked off and was able to see him climb in the Potrero many years ago. I would like to post an image of Jimmy that I was able to capture at last years gripper on my website.
Mario C.[reply][/reply][email][reply]
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jilldworkin
Nov 28, 2006, 4:08 PM
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My mom and I are trying to find all the big "climbing message boards" where people may be remembering Jimmy. We know of this one and erockonline as Jimmy ALWAYS left them up on the computer screen, but if someone could let us know of any others we would appreciate it.
Jill
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jilldworkin
Nov 28, 2006, 4:09 PM
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Also - we have heard of several fundraisers, etc. that are being scheduled. Please email me with any details on such things as we would like to attend and be involved in as many as possible regardless of location.
Jill
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chrisc425
Nov 28, 2006, 4:16 PM
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dfranklin wrote: I am one of Jimmy's other sisters and I would really appreciate these pictures. Thank you for your kind words! Sincerely, Dedrea Franklin dfranklin@ems-isd.net
Yes Dedrea, I'll get them to you. Chris
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chrisc425
Nov 28, 2006, 4:18 PM
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climbin_chick wrote: Chris, Words cannot even begin to describe the loss. Jimmy was a great climber and an even better friend. He will be missed so very much. I am blessed by the time we were able to spend together and will try to focus on all the fun times, as hard as that is right now. I mentioned to nancy when I talked to her on saturday that I would really be grateful if you could get me copies of the pictures you took of Jimmy. Just give me call, Debi
Hi Debi, yes, I'll get them to you.
Chris
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dfranklin
Nov 28, 2006, 4:20 PM
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That would be wonderful!!! Thank you!
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aarong
Nov 28, 2006, 4:35 PM
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The Wichita Mountains Climbers Coalition Forum is back online as of today - there will be people posting there.
It was a favorite place for Jimmy to discuss climbing with fellow Wichita Mountain climbers.
http://wichitamountains.org/smf/index.php
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jilldworkin
Nov 28, 2006, 5:03 PM
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Hello All, this is Jimmy's Mom. Jimmy would never believe this - I am reading rockclimbing message boards! Additionally, I am hearing from many in the rockclimbing community!! It helps us to know that others loved and cared for him. Does every rockclimber have their own web page? It' pretty confusing to me - I don't want to miss anything! If you have a story or picture / something that you think I could use in Rylie's memory book, I would love to have it. Send it to dorisdworkin@sbcglobal.net
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mgclimber
Nov 28, 2006, 6:08 PM
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I have never seen a group of friends and family come together as efficiently and quickly as I have over the last few days. This is a true testament of how very special people in this world bring out only the best in people. Jimmy is one of these people. He is our angel on earth. It is still just a dream state with his death. My dearest Jimmy, bless your beautiful, beautiful heart, soul, and your future dreams that will be carried on for you. Absolutely, it only takes one person to change the world. You are that person!!
We love you and will miss you terribly and forever...
Tambri, Marcus, and Kaitlyn
Updates for everyone:
Marcus is just waiting for a last signature from the police to bring Jimmy home. We will release funeral times on Jimmy's website. Please visit it for donations to Rylie, photos, and posting stories to share.
http://www.friendsofforester.com
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mateo74
Nov 28, 2006, 6:12 PM
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I along with everyone in the climbing community will forever miss Jimmy. He was a good friend to me and we were in contact alot working together on his on line guide book. I got to know Jimmy very well over the past few years and we shared the same adventerous spirit and passion when it came to exploration of new areas and climbing first ascents.
Jimmy contributed so much to the climbing community here in Texas and Oklahoma. I will truly miss talking and climbing with him. My deepest sympathy goes to his family during this time.
I work at Exposure and I hope many of you can be here this Sunday at 6 to show support for Jimmy's family and his daughter Riley.
May God Bless Jimmy and his family!
sincerely,
Matt Dendy
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dfranklin
Nov 28, 2006, 7:20 PM
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I would love to see those pictures! I am not sure how to get to your website. Thank you for your sweet words!
Sincerely,
Dedrea (One of Jimmy's sisters)
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Alpenstock
Nov 28, 2006, 7:31 PM
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bxt
Nov 28, 2006, 7:32 PM
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Jimmy Ray touched a great many lives, including my own as we talked often and both served on the Central Texas Climbing Committee, the climber/park liaison group for Enchanted Rock that Jimmy recently gained a position on. Anyone who attended the recent Granite Gripper climbing comp at Enchanted Rock last month would remember Jimmy for being the charismatic M.C. of the event.
I felt compelled to journal the story of my and my now passed away new friend for at least my own accounts of my own journey though life but would like to share them in memory of Jimmy Ray. I had posted this verbatim on a local climbing forum but wanted to add it here as well to express the tremendous loss.
I first came to know Jimmy Ray in the summer of last year after the CTCC, of which I was a part of, undertook a controversially retro-bolting project on the backside of E-rock, from that a heated discussion was started on Erockonline.com of which I frequented. This topic drew Jimmy out from lurking to make his first post which detailed his perspective on the matter in which he expressed displeasure and concern for the direction it could set. I remember clearly that Jimmy started his post off with saying "Most of you don't know me from Adam" which was true, but that soon changed for me. I replied to Jimmy's post in depth and included a barrage of questions for him to help lead us to a better understanding of each other since we were on opposite sides of the issue. The volume of questions I asked prompted Jimmy to send me a private message with his phone number and asked for me to call, which I did. Jimmy and I talked extensively on climbing and management issues of which we were both passionate about. From that phone conversation I quickly came to like Jimmy and we talked a handful of times about various topics before we first meet at the 2005 Granite Gripper in October.
Jimmy and I continued to talk before the second time I saw him which was a chance meeting at E-rock in December, on Sunday our groups both went to the Backside where Jimmy and I both "took some lumps" on the Shield as Jimmy would say. At the beginning of this year Jimmy had started to ask about the CTCC structure of which I helped him out to understand and we talked about, I had speculated that he might be contemplating running for a CTCC position in the last Spring which he later indicated to be the case. It was clear he was taking the pursuit most seriously.
Jimmy and I talked at great lengths about the '06-'08 committee of which I was considering on rerunning myself. I had been on the fence on the issue because I did not want to rerun by default, I thought there should be a good reason to do so. Jimmy's interest in the CTCC ended up being what I needed to convince myself to run since we both shared a similar vision and passion for climbing access and land management process issues that the CTCC dealt with and if we worked together I thought we could make some positive changes for the community. Many of our previous discussions had been about a need for improvement in these areas for E-rock and it seemed that if Jimmy and I worked together we could make something happen. Jimmy and I would not philosophically agree on all points but our discussions and debates were always on the best of terms.
In mid-June the CTCC results were announced and Jimmy and I were both elected. Jimmy called me, along with all the others on the committee that day to express his excitement as he was looking forward to our first meeting in July. Jimmy and I wanted to get right on the issues but I was the first to point out to the committee the need for Granite Gripper planning which helped get me set up to lead the event. As part of the first CTCC meeting Jimmy and I agreed to put off matters until after the Gripper in October but Jimmy had sent a loud and clear noticed at the meeting about his passion for improving management processes which was highlighted with an eloquent speech and presenting volumes of related written works that he brought to the meeting.
In August, the CTCC was faced with a new management issue relating to the '05 retro-bolting as one of the bolts had been pulled. This resulted in a flurry of e-mails including an extensive one by myself that provoked Jimmy to call me the next day. Jimmy appreciated the tone and content to my message and we discussed some of the points, Jimmy noted how we had similar traits in putting a great deal of effort into our written works about climbing issues. It was in this discussion that Jimmy pushed that we should meet up for climbing, he didn't seem to be fazed by my reminding him of the natural issues associated with his skills being far superior to my own.
In planning the '06 Gripper Jimmy was extremely helpful and would often call me up and ask what needed to be done, it removed a tremendous load and ended up improving the event, he joked that he'd run "interference" across the board to make sure deadlines were hit- it worked. The Gripper weekend was a fantastic one for me and certainly a time of high energy. I was so happy, pleased and proud for Jimmy in how he did the MC job, everything from his humor to his humbleness in dealing with an error that I created for him. One of the moments that I'll never forget wasn't anything special but as the dinner was winding down I went hunting for Jimmy to get the awards ceremony rolling. I was looking all over and couldn't find him until I finally saw him talking away with three of the park rangers in the parking lot, obviously laying a foundation for a working relationship with the park staff. I approached, grabbed Jimmy, apologized to the rangers and dragged him off to get the show going.
The next morning Jimmy and I were walking to the pavilion for our CTCC meeting and chatting about how the comp went and climbing in general when something happened that I never would have expected- in the course of our climbing talk I was inspired to say something about Yosemite and Jimmy replied he'd been many times. I prodded and asked him what he'd climbed out there- when he noted that he had climbed El Cap five times I was flabbergasted and interjected that it would be a miracle if I ever made it up once- without a moment of hesitation Jimmy retorted "we should go". I was speechless. Jimmy's response could have seemed off the cuff and for some people it would have had no substance but Jimmy was always sincere in what he said and he talked up some possibilities. I know I am no where near ready for such a Yosemite undertaking but I still contemplated what Jimmy's remarks really meant, after much consideration I concluded that it highlighted the value of our friendship to him as any significant pursuit would of entailed him spending a healthy dose of his valuable time being a mentor for me. At the CTCC meeting Jimmy again spoke passionately about management issues relating to the still unresolved August incident.
Jimmy and I talked a few times after the Gripper about starting the work of CTCC process improvement and decided that we'd meet at E-rock for climbing and talks in December. Jimmy had called me on his way down to Mexico, we discussed an assortment of topics including our writings and views on a recent online discussion of buzzard impact on the Backside that had become a hot topic as well as trying to iron out a date in December for us to meet at E-rock. That was the last time I talked with Jimmy.
I have been devastated having received news of Jimmy's passing, so much was lost. I view Jimmy's final climb just like I view the climbs of most, one doing what they need to do to be themselves to allow them to give what they can. For Jimmy Ray his climbing allowed him to be a passionate, intelligent, energetic person that could connect with others and to give back to the community in ways that few do. From my view he was bringing something to the table that no one else was, it is in this how I view Jimmy's passing as an irreplaceable loss to the community. I am devastated to have lost a new friend, someone that I connected with in so many ways. I am hollowed out for having plans with a friend that are no longer and that our much anticipated project together will never happen. I am saddened that I was never able to partner up for a climb with my new friend who I was honored to have known.
Bryan Thome
Houston TX
Central Texas Climbing Committee member
President of the Texas Mountain Raiders, the Houston climbing club
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mgclimber
Nov 28, 2006, 9:02 PM
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The account was set up this morning. It took some time to process within the Chase system. You should be able to donate without any problems now. If you do have problems, contact the account officer, David Ploof @ Chase Bank Dallas branch, 972-407-3415.
Donations can also be mailed to:
Friends of Forester
c/o Chase Bank
16831 Coit Road
Dallas, Texas 75248
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dolomite
Nov 28, 2006, 9:21 PM
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Thanks for your post, Bryan. I think I speak for all Texas Mountaineers when I say that we were all looking forward to hearing from Jimmy about his work with CTCC at E-Rock, and we will miss him dearly. He is a huge loss for the Texas & Oklahoma climbing world.
Personally, I only met him a few times. Long after I knew the name and face from stories and pictures, such as the one of him climbing "Coolhead". We then exchanged many emails about the CTCC electionis. He wanted to know if we would nominate him. Of course we would! What better candidate to represent us North Texans at E-Rock than Jimmy. I think the last time, I met him at a gear auction last summer. He was loading up on TCUs... maybe one of you knows what item on his tick list he was gonna use all that small gear on...
Man, I just read some of his recent posts that they are compiling at the WMCC website (wichitamountains.org), and not only was Jimmy a great climber, activist, infectiously lively and good humored person, but he was also a darn good writer. Read some of those route descriptions or his climbing history blurps... good stuff.
Our hearts go out to Jimmy's family and all his loved ones. And as a club, it will be our privilege to honor Jimmy's life and achievements by contributing to Riley's fund. Thanks, everyone for your posts, thoughts and prayers.
Arne Gelfert
Texas Mountaineers
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mgclimber
Nov 28, 2006, 11:48 PM
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There is a forum on the friendsofforester.com website. The reason for another forum is so one day Rylie can read about her father. Everything on the website will be saved for his family and daughter. So please take the time to leave something for them. Keep checking for updates. Speaking of, Jimmy and Marcus will be coming home on Thursday. We will post the funeral information as soon as we get it for those of you traveling!!
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bainickel123
Nov 29, 2006, 3:06 AM
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Hello. I am Jimmy Ray's niece and I just want to let all of his friends know that I thank you guys so much for your condolences. He is so lucky to have friends like you who care so much about him.
This is such a devastating time for all of us and I just wish I could have seen Jimmy Ray more often than I got to. The news of the passing was such a shock. He was the best uncle a girl could have. Even though I'm only fifteen and haven't experienced a lot of things yet, I think Jimmy Ray is one of the most inspiring people in the world (next to my grandfather Jim). I'm just so comforted to know that Jimmy Ray is in Heaven now with God and my grandfather and they are in peace now.
To everyone who has written in this, thank you so much and if you have ever met Jimmy Ray you know his charisma was contagious.
Rest in peace, Uncle Jimmy. I miss you so much it's unbelievable and I'm sorry for not being there all of the time. I love and miss you terribly.
Baillie Nickel (may God be with Jimmy)
(This post was edited by bainickel123 on Nov 29, 2006, 3:09 AM)
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mario
Nov 29, 2006, 4:15 AM
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I placed a link for the memorial fund and info on www.elpotrerochico.com
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hugepedro
Nov 29, 2006, 4:42 AM
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Oh . . . no
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NonClimber
Nov 29, 2006, 7:34 PM
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I grew up with Jimmy. Have Marcus let me know if he needs any assistance of any kind to get my "brother" home. I'm in Denver right now but I'll send my cell number in a private message.
Thanks,
Jeff Slentz
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mgclimber
Nov 29, 2006, 9:38 PM
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Jeff,
Please contact me at mgclimber@hotmail.com. Marcus as you know is in Mexico. Thank you, Tambri Garcia.
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Alpenstock
Nov 29, 2006, 10:19 PM
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I remember Jimmy.
Like lots of beginning climbers, I worked an apprenticeship under more experienced climbers. On one such outing we were climbing in the Narrows and came across "Dr. Coolhead." The conversation turned to Jimmy because there's a picture of him leading this test piece in Chuck Lohn's guidebook. My mentor recalled a time when he was just beginning, and was about to head up "Ker Plunk" a 5.6 ramp that traverses over a shallow pool. Jimmy happened nearby, looked at the guy's rack and asked what route he was about to jump on. When my mentor answered "Kerplunk," Jimmy said, "Here, you're going to need these." And right then and there Jimmy put about $200 of TCUs into the hands of a complete stranger.
Several years later, being very much aware of who Jimmy was, another partner and I were climbing "Triple Decker" and enjoying having the Narrows virtually to ourselves. Then we heard Jimmy and someone else come around the corner, and I'll never forget Jimmy laughing and saying "To me, that's what climbing is all about!!" You can imagine my curiosity, because climbing means so many different things to each of us. But what did it mean to Jimmy? I never did ask, because I didn't want to invade his privacy. I just contented myself with the knowledge that on this day, Jimmy was having the time of his life.
Sure, there will be lots of people who end up living longer lives than Jimmy. Not many, though, will live fuller lives, making the most of each day.
I will always admire Jimmy for the way he lived life intentionally, rather than drifting in the wind; and for the way that as he lived his life, gentleness and a sincere concern for others governed his steps.
Jimmy's impact will not soon be forgotten. For decades to come, there will be plenty of climbers who will sigh and say from time to time,
"I remember Jimmy."
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mario
Nov 30, 2006, 1:00 AM
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www.elpotrerochico.com
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