We've not got used to Jim not being about, not certain we will, we keep listening out for his throat clearing, always a give away that he was about.
The long term lung complaint finally caught him out,due mainly to radiotherapy treatment received about a year ago for cancer from which he got the all clear a couple of months ago. It probably exacerbated the long term problem, weakening his bodies natural fighting abilities.
Jim was a Manchester born man, from a very poor background, he lived and was brought up by his aunt for many years,two doors down from the family home and four sisters, before being drafted into the army at the age of 18 in 1951 for two years National Service based in Shoeburyness, Essex.
Married twice, with two adopted children from his last marriage, he moved across to Lincolnshire after his retirement and a divorce in 1996 at 64, and after 40 years of selling flooring for the same local family company James Halstead. Once again almost penniless.
He chose Lincolnshire because it was a good distance from Manchester, which apart from an occasional visit to friends he had no wish to return. Not even as ashes! He lived on his own during all this time.
A Manchester City fan, with not a good word to say for the other lot, especially their previous manager (AF) whom he had met a couple of times after organising "business days" at the City ground for his clients, at the after local derby match chats.
We met Jim when we moved into the village, getting on for 11 years ago, he soon got us into village life, firstly by taking me along to the local pub where he was treasurer to the fishing club.
Jim didn't fish, but neither did he still play football, but was also treasurer to the village football team.
We socialised with him on occasions for about the first 4 years or so, he spent most of his social time with a couple of the old boys in the village, but popped over on occasions, usually with a bottle of wine clutched in his hand.
After a fall in the garden about 6 years ago (he's the one I found lying by his back door after disturbing a wasp nest and breaking his leg just below the knee) we got to know Jim even better.
He relied on us for some many months, ferrying back and forth to hospital, for his leg and his chest complaint.
He spent time with us for meals and for regular trips to the village pub, and others around our part of the county for lunch.Very often we would fight to get to the till first to stop him paying the bill, he was a very generous man.
Over the next too few years, we got to know him and his background very well. Some stories repeated many times!
Jim effectively became part of our family, and we his.
His 40 years with Halstead's, saw him relatively well off with a good pension, and a share scheme that has proved to be an extremely good investment for him in his retirement years.
Having now being advised what I/we have to do as executors by the solicitor acting jointly to get his estate dealt with, I'm glad we bludgeoned him into making a Will some four years ago.It's going to be difficult enough dealing with the taxman even with the Will, and may take us a year to sort everything out for his family.
Anyway, Thursday was the day of his funeral, which I arranged according to his wishes. It went very well, with about 50 friends and family in attendance and a wake in the White Hart after.
I now have to organise a pub crawl to disperse his ashes, his wish, around the Lincolnshire countryside!
After that we have to look after the house until the taxman lets us sell it.
So to our very good friend, who was like an elder brother to us both, a man who passed on something good to all who met him, Rest in Peace Jim.
