James Whitmore

Jim Whitmore - A Life of Learning, Loving and Giving

We start this life knowing no-one and knowing next to nothing. During a lifetime, we accumulate a collection of family, friends and knowledge - if we're lucky. James "Jim" Elmo Whitmore was a very lucky man. He was born in Severance, Colorado on July 31, 1931 to Henrietta Josephine (Martin) Whitmore and Harvey Elmo Whitmore. He was born shortly before the Empire State Building was officially opened to the public and a few months before Al Capone pled guilty to tax evasion and prohibition charges. The Great Depression was in full swing.

Early Life. His grandfather, Alfred, originally homesteaded on land near Pierce in the 1800's and later purchased land near Severance. This family farm near Severance was where Jim was raised. Music was very important in this house. His grandfather had very specifically built the house in Severance with a floor that was large enough for Jim's grandmother to have plenty of room to dance on. His daughter still has the player piano that had graced this house. Jim remembered many occasions where family and friends would gather around this piano while some played and the rest would sing. His days were filled with taking care of horses, cows, pigs and chickens, fixing farm equipment, as well as general farming activities. He learned the value of hard work and the value of life.

Upon graduating from Eaton High School in 1949, he joined the Navy achieving the rank of Radarman 2nd Class. He served during the Korean Conflict, stationed on the U.S.S. Rochester, the U.S. Navy's last heavy cruiser. Also known as the "Grey Ghost of the Korean Coast" because she was so swift and silent; she provided gunfire support to troops ashore and served as a mobile helicopter base. Helicopters were kept aloft constantly to aid the minesweepers in opening various ports. Her helicopters also aided in the rescue of survivors from the minesweepers. During one of these battles a shell exploded near his head and he lost most of the hearing in his right ear. As a Radarman, one of his main jobs was to detect ships, planes and missiles and help guide artillery from the ship. This included going up in the helicopter during bombardments to help the shooters from the boat adjust their aim. He never spoke of his experiences in the military until much later in his life. Even then, his speech was guarded. He did, however, write down some memories of his Navy stories. One of the good things that came from his service was his ability, albeit forced, to travel the world. Prior to the Navy he had never ventured far from home except for a trip to Oregon. Originally stationed out of Long Beach, California, he traveled to the Philippine Islands and then to the North Korean coast for 81 days. His boat was under fire at the famous battle near Inchon, Korea. They then traveled to Sasebo (Japan), Pearl Harbor, and Yokuska, Kosong, Wonsan Harbor, Chogjin and the Yalu River (Korea). As well as ports of call at Manila, Singapore, Bangkok and Saigon. Through his Navy experience, he developed a real love of the ocean and a love of travel.

After being honorably discharged in 1954, Jim returned to Colorado and put the G.I. Bill to good use, earning a bachelor's degree in Vocational Agriculture from Colorado State University in 1959 and then going on to complete additional studies in Agronomy by 1961. Despite all the studying, he did find time to have fun. He and his friend, Mark, had gone on a double date. The date apparently didn't go so well because, upon returning the girls safely to their dorms, instead of giving the girls a kiss, Jim and Mark turned to face each other, shook each other's hands, then walked away.

Career. His first job after graduating was with the Colorado Extension Service as an Assistant County Agent in Delta County. It was during this time that he met his future wife, Barbara Rodstrom. They were married in the summer of 1961. Two boys and a girl soon followed. During his long career, he worked for Coors as a Barley Fieldman in Delta, Montrose and the San Luis Valley; Webster Feedlots in Greeley as a Vice President and General Manager; and Wells Fargo in Denver as a Compliance Investigator. It was while doing some work for Wells Fargo in the San Luis Valley that he found himself bellied up to the bar with none other than Mark Harmon (swoon!). His daughter is still in disbelief that he didn't get Mark's autograph or, at the very least, shake his hand.

Flying. Despite all of the positives that came out of joining the Navy, the Navy wasn't his first choice. He had desperately wanted to fly for the Air Force. However, he didn't meet the strict height standards to be a pilot. Not wanting this to get in the way of his dream of flying, after his service with the Navy and graduating from college, he made a point to get his pilot's license. He flew for a few years, mostly quick trips to Montrose and Wyoming, before the costs of flying and starting a family collided. He continued his love of flying by attending air shows. His family remembers sitting for hours on hot tarmacs and getting sunburned while watching the grace, beauty and deafening noise of the Blue Angels and skill of the stunt pilots.

Known for. He was notorious for his frequent proclamations to "Buy American", his sense of humor (usually accompanied by a twinkling of his pale blue eyes), his easy smile, his keen card playing skills (one of his favorites being Pinochle) and his pride of being a second generation Coloradoan. He is also remembered for making wooden robots with his grandson out of scrap wood and watching any war movie or western he could (he thought they ruined John Wayne movies when they introduced a woman and turned it into a love story) and for having an insatiable appetite for non-fiction books about WWII (this did NOT include novels about WWII, he only wanted to read the facts). He was adamant about the value of education and that his children get college degrees. He was an expert at "farmer fixes," but he was not always successful with his fixes. One summer, he tried to fix that annoying chirping sound coming from their basement by setting off a series of smoke bombs and injections under the carpet to get rid of the "crickets." It perplexed him to no end when he could still hear the chirping, until a friend suggested the chirping may instead be caused by a smoke alarm with a low battery. Fortunately, he could take teasing as well as give it, because he was teased mercilessly about this one.

He believed in buying American, telling the truth, arriving early (causing the family to arrive hours early for every trip to the airport), and in making sure his kids and grandkids know how to handle guns (starting with his gift to them of an official bee-bee gun). Jim was around the age of eight when his father told him that he had a real gun for him, a double-barreled 12 gauge shotgun, but he couldn't have it until he could shoot it. Soon thereafter, Jim took the gun out and shot it. The gun had quite a kick, resulting in a very sore arm and many tears, but Jim triumphantly returned to the house and proclaimed to his father, "That Son of a B*@# gun is mine." He was a stickler for taking care of his tools ("always clean your tools and put them away" rings in our ears). He spent many (mostly) patient hours teaching his children how to drive, all the time shouting ridiculous commands, like "cow!" to test the unsuspecting students reaction time.

Talents. Jim's many talents included fly fishing. He elevated fly fishing to an art, making it look more like a dance than a mere leisurely pursuit. It was during one of these fly fishing trips that he spied a cute little bear cub on the riverbank near where he was fishing from the middle of the large stream. He barely had enough time to think, "Oh, how cute" before the panic and the second thought came, "Where's the cub's mother?" Looking around, he soon saw the cub's mother on the riverbank opposite where he was. Unfortunately, that placed him right in the middle of the two. As you know, that is one place you don't want to be - between a baby cub and its momma. Fortunately, he was able to slowly move back upstream without mama bear becoming alarmed.

Loves. He had a life-long love affair with his wife, his family, 24-hour salad (a sweet concoction of marshmallows, fruit and nuts), nature, spicy Mexican food, fishing, a good steak, teasing anyone and everyone, eggnog, learning, attending his kids and grandkids school and sporting events, hunting (or was this another excuse to sit around and talk?), hearing good stories, telling good stories, the History Channel, a good fight and gardening (especially dahlias, some as large a dinner plates). He had a brilliant green thumb. He knew not only the common name for almost all plants, but usually the horribly complicated scientific name. During the summer, he could be found puttering around the yard, pruning something or other and moving plants from one location to another. He sold some of his flowers at the Cherry Creek Farmers Market. Although many think this was just an excuse to talk with people. He earned enough distinction with his flowers that the Denver Post interviewed him for an article highlighting his talents. He took pride in pollinating flowers, especially dahlias and petunias, to develop stronger strains. His talents extended to having the ability to create new flowers, just for fun. He developed his own variety of petunia - a petunia hybrid. Who does that?! His allotted half of the basement looked more like a professional grow operation than a place he used to start flowers each winter and spring.

He often combined his love of travel and his love of photography. He took his wife and children on many trips, including Washington D.C., Philadelphia, New York City (where they saw the Rockettes and a scruffy hobo sitting in the middle of a busy New York street playing on a man-hole cover like it was the drums), Maine, Kentucky, Tennessee, California and Washington as well as the Scandinavian countries and Mexico. He also took three trips to Alaska. One with his wife and close family members, Dennis and Harv. Two more were with his son, the first one was quite the odyssey. For this one, they drove all the way from Denver to Valdez in five days. Then fished and drove around seeing the sights for nine weeks, sleeping in the truck or a tent for all but a few of those nights. They fished for twenty-four hours straight in a stream in Valdez. Why, you ask? Because it never got dark, and, well, they could! They went deep sea fishing and Jim caught a 220 pound Halibut in Prince Rupert Canada. They also went deep sea fishing with some of the Sandelin relatives. They slept on the ferry boat from Skagway to Victoria, Canada. The Victoria customs searched their pickup for an hour, looking for guns. Perhaps they looked suspicious? Their second trip to Alaska was with some friends from Colorado. They had decided to fly, but their flight was scheduled to leave on September 12, 2001. Due to the bombings on September 11th, their flight to Alaska was delayed until the 14th. Once finally there, they fished and watched out for bears for the full week, living in the lap of luxury by sleeping in a lodge each night except for four nights. They were dropped off by plane in the wilderness, where they fished and tried to again avoid all contact with bears.

He took his grandchildren to Mesa Verde, the Great Sand Dunes, Bent's Fort and other exciting places like Cherry Creek Reservoir and the Douglas County Fair. He shared his love of fishing with his grandsons, too. They fished on the Big Blue Creek while camping with cherished family friends on their ranch near Cimarron. And all of this was in addition to quick excursions to other locations. Sometimes the excuse was fishing, but mostly it was just an excuse to go somewhere and do something he loved.

His wife lives in their home in Centennial. His son, Ted, lives in Aurora with his wife, Leisel. His daughter, Carmen, lives in Highlands Ranch with her husband, John, and their three children. He is predeceased by his sister, Josephine; and his son, Alfred. In addition to many family members and friends, he also wanted to recognize the support of his niece, Harvietta (who he always felt was more like a sister); and his Best Man, Jack.

He was a hard-working, loving and intelligent man. In his memory, his family plans to plant flowers each year on his birthday, while heralding both the plant's common name and its scientific name (which we will undoubtedly mispronounce). A husband, a father, a son, a brother and a friend, he passed away peacefully on Friday, December 12, 2014. Thank you for all you have given us, may you rest in peace.