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Born April 10th, 1950, in Cleveland, OH. He was the second and final child of the late Curtis Elmer and Mae (Pekarek). Jim passed away after a short battle with multiple organ failure peacefully and gracefully at 3:40 pm on Saturday, August 8th, 2026, at the age of 76, surrounded by his loving children.
He married his high school sweetheart, Leslie (Bailes) on October 21st, 1972 and were beyond blessed to share their lives together for 50 amazing years until her death 4 months later. Once married, they promptly moved to Marietta for his work at The Marietta Times, in which he finally retired after 46 years, 6 months, 2 weeks and 3 days, in order to take care of his lovely bride during her last days. All he ever wanted to be was a devoted husband, father and grandfather (Poppy/ Pops), and boy, was he ever the best! They were blessed with two children and four grandchildren (their true pride and joys): Jamie (Angie), Avery and Peyton of Galloway, OH, and Jana (Tom), Braeyn and Brynlee Joseph of Syracuse, OH. He is also survived by an inspirational sister, Susan (Lester) of Chicago, IL.
Jim wore many hats throughout his years and volunteered a lot of his time but took a lot of pride in aiding his bride with Cub Scouts, Girl Scout Troop 534, coaches for Jamie and Jana for basketball, baseball and floor hockey, PTA dad who was always willing to lend a hand and help out in any way, devoted sports and dance dad, dog lover, band dad, and an awe-inspiring dad to many of his children's friends. His smile was contagious and his heart was made out of pure gold. His dog, Oreo, will miss him the most as his favorite place to be was begging at his feet for a crumb (which he always had) or barking out the front window to all of the neighbors. His philosophy was if duct tape or a wire hanger can't fix it, then nothing can.
His family always came first, however he took great satisfaction of his dedicated, multi-award winning work. He was employed at The Marietta Times since 1972 as a reporter, editor, blogger (Gray Matter), among others. He was the top headliner in the State of Ohio many years in a row. He was brilliant behind the computer and out in the community. He had a billion stories to tell and he was an extraordinary story teller. His children recall hanging out at his work during middle school (right next to the Times) and being in absolute awe watching him type. He had two computers at his desk, two keyboards and the TV on in the distance and he was able to type two different stories at the same time one with each hand, watch the news and have a conversation with someone else in the newsroom and never miss a beat. He, also, was employed as a driver for Smitty's Pizza for 25 + years so that his bride could stay home and run the household and his children could be in all of their sports and dance. He never took, he always just gave and he gave his all every single day.
Special thanks to: Arbors at Pomeroy and Amedysis Home Health and Hospice for the compassionate care to not only Jim, but his family as well. He also had a special heart for Sarah Cornelius, Sherri Clark, and Pam Floyd (his therapy girls) that became family! He felt so special every day and never missed a beat to tell one of his many Dad jokes.
Jim and Leslie were able to renew their vows for their 40th Wedding Anniversary and more recently their 50th, as well. They have shown all of us how amazing love can be; even though a lot of work, in the end, it was always worth it. He was loved by many, he loved many and so many others looked up to him. He will be dearly missed.
His sister came up with the idea to have a surprise birthday party for him this year where she drove from Chicago just to be with him and until his last day, he still couldn't believe she made it all happen. He was exhausted but beyond content after his festivities, the many, many laughs and great food, Chinese, of course. It was a memorable day that his loved ones will cherish forever.
Memorial services are planned for Sunday, August 23rd, 2026 at the Arbors at Pomeroy at 2 pm, in Pomeroy, OH, where he spent the last few months of his life and made lasting forever friendships.