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James Jung Obituary
Memorial services will be at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, March 18, 2007, at Huffman-Harker Funeral Home in Carbondale, with the Rev. Robert Gray officiating. Friends are encouraged to share a memory of Jim during the service. Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday, March 17, 2007, at the funeral home in Carbondale.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Green Earth, Inc. PO Box 441, Carbondale, IL 62903, The Nature Conservancy, World Wide Office, 4245 N. Fairfax Dr, Ste 100, Arlington, VA 22203-1606, or a charity of your choice.
Jim was born Jan. 26, 1953, in Alton to Loren and Vernice Jung.
He attended schools in Edwardsville and Carbondale.
He married Ruby Woodbridge in Carbondale in April 1974.
Survivors include his parents, Loren and Vernice Jung of Columbia, Mo.; his spouse; his grandmother Laura Brelig of Chester, IL; his sisters Nancy (Paul) Smolak of Herrin, IL and Kathryn (Charlie) Kinder of Florissant, Mo.; his brother Thomas (Karen) Jung of Jefferson City, Mo., five nieces and nephews and many beloved children of friends who knew him as Uncle Jim.
He had an intense interest in the natural world since early childhood. During high school, he often cut classes to explore caves, natural areas and historic sites. Since 1996 Jim has published "The Waterman & Hill-Traveller's Companion," an almanac that explores the rich natural and human heritage of the region, and since March 2006 he had a monthly column, "The Nature of Carbondale" in the Carbondale Times. He also pursued interest and published his findings concerning the region's prehistoric archaeoastronomical traditions. Most recently, he published "Weird Egypt: The Case for Supernatural Geology," about the paranormal in Southern Illinois.
He had a keen understanding and a rare talent for sharing his enthusiasms, directly with those around him and through his writings. He will be sorely missed by those who loved him.
This obituary was originally published in The Southern.
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Jim Curry
May 6, 2025
The best guy ever. I lived in Freeman Hall in 1987 and 1988 and Jim was just the most interesting person to talk to and hang out with.
December 2, 2009
Hey-
I just wanted to say how much your missed. Isaac and I cry regularly for you. I gave him the treasure chest. Told him you would want him to have it. He's full of your spirit. I'm trying to not mess that up. ;-)
Love you and miss you, Uncle Jim.
-Emily Grace
Joshua Whitley
July 17, 2008
Hey Jimbo, sure do miss ya....
Kim McElhinney
May 19, 2008
I didn't know Jim, but have and still do enjoy his cougar webpage. He probably would have been thrilled to hear of the undeniable 'cougar sighting' in Chicago, April, '08, but saddened that the critter had to be shot. His cougar page is part of his legacy. Kim in Schaumburg, IL
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Meg Simonds
January 23, 2008
I am very late in finding out about Jim's passing. Not until I could not find a 2008 Almanac. I think I have every copy he every wrote! I looked at it almost every day. I am so sorry for your loss. He will be missed!
Igor Mitrovic
October 24, 2007
Jim,
May Lord God give your soul Eternal Peace and Joy!AMEN!
Bill Alsing
August 27, 2007
Jim was perhaps the most fascinating person I have ever met. His knowledge of Southern Illinois, its history and secrets was astounding. I consider myself very lucky to have known him and his passing will leave an empty spot in my world but not my heart. A remarkable man!
Charles Heisler
August 26, 2007
I knew Jim as one of the wonderful children of my boss and educational mentor Loren Jung--I remember well this wonderful family during the turbulent late 60's and early 70's at SIU.
I send my deepest sympathy to his wife Ruby and to his Mother Vernice and Father Loren. I truly wish I could make this better for all of you but losses like this simply have to be endured. Thinking warmly of all of you now. Chuck Heisler Sr.
Patrick Enright
July 27, 2007
Jim was the perfect example of what is meant today by the phrase "Renaissance man." He was one of three people I've known (Ray Hunter and Frank Walters are the other two) who exemplify the idea that self-education can be as good as, or better than, the more formal variety. There was just very little that Jim didn't know or couldn't do.
He was a tireless reader--in the living room, the dining room, and even while taking a bath. I never knew Jim not to be in the midst of a book, and often enough more than one. His interests were wide-ranging, from fiction to geology, to anthropology, to local flora and fauna, to Southern Illinois history. You name it, and Jim had read something about it.
He was an indefatigable woodsman who loved to share his knowledge of nature with anyone who would listen, as so many of these entries express. I didn't get out in the woods with Jim as often as I might have, but every time I did was memorable.
Jim was an inventor; give him a hammer, some nails, and some lumber, and he could design and build just about anything. The device for removing honey from combs, the siren trap, the "bee farm" set up in the dining room, the giant tank for the snake--all these showed Jim's inventiveness and careful craftsmanship.
Jim was a great handyman with a thorough knowledge of how plumbing and electrical systems work (as well as carpentry, roofing, painting, and so on), as his jobs with a Carbondale housing rental company and as an apartment manager attest. He was one of the few people to appreciate my hardware store stories, and of course he had wonderful stories of his own.
Jim was a talented writer, from fantasy stories for his friends' kids to the nature almanac and to his final book. I wish he had written more.
Jim was keenly interested in and knowledgeable about politics, from the local level to the international. There was no issue of significance about which he hadn't thought and on which he had no opinion.
The list could go on and on, but in the end they all add up to "Renaissance man."
Additionally, he was hospitable, kind, and a good friend to everyone he knew. I miss him, as does everyone whom he touched. Truly, in Jim's case, we can apply the words of John Donne: "Send not to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee."
Merri Tingley
July 5, 2007
I am truly sorry to hear of Jims loss. This site has been a great source of information for me. He will be missed.
Nicky Jacobs
June 20, 2007
I'm sorry for your loss Ruby. Jim was a great and passionate man who I had the pleasure of working with on several writing assignments for my studies at SIU. I'll never forget when I met him, I was working for the Daily Egyptian and I did a piece on the nature almanac. He was full of knowledge and most importantly willing to share it. He not only taught me about Fountain Bluff and petroglyphs, but he took me on a trip there so I could get firsthand experience for my paper. He was a great man with an insatiable desire to learn about his surroundings, I wish you well Ruby and I'm glad to say I knew Jim Jung.
John A, Lutz
June 3, 2007
I'm very sorry to hear of Jim's death when trying to reach him on June 3rd. I never met him, but had corresponded with him as to our mutual interest, eastern cougars. He & I are of a dying breed, old-timers who are the last to conduct field studies. May the Great Spirit grant Jim rest in HIS beautiful world among the clouds.
Debra Miller
May 24, 2007
Last summer I found some reptile eggs in my garden and didn't want to destroy them (as most of my friends and family suggested). I found Jim and the Nature Almanac site with an online search. I was excited to find somebody so knowledgeable and from Carbondale (I went to SIU in the 90s) Jim was so helpful and patient as I went thru the process of incubating these lovely reptile eggs which eventually turned into 5 little black rat snakes that I of course released. I thank Jim for all the information and wish that I knew him personally as I really enjoy the Nature Almanac site. My condolences to his friends and family.
Ray Hunter
May 6, 2007
I too, was one of Uncle Jim's kids. I say that despite the fact that he was only three years older than me and I was well into my late 20s when we first met. But from the beginning, Jim represented the kind of person that I would most like to be. When I was young I used to turn over rocks and logs, but it was Jim that taught me that it was appropriate to do as an adult. His gallant willingness to tackle ANYthing, encouraged my own. And the way he shared what he knew made me want to share the things that I knew. Now, I think that I would have become much the same person I am without Jim's influence. But he made me better at it, much better. My daughter Jennifer's post here demonstrates how far the ripples have spread from Jim's life already for I hear her sharing the same lessons with her sons that I learned from Jim and passed on to her. So I'm thankful for a dear friend whose influence has enriched not just the lives of those of us fortunate enough to have known him, but those of our decendents as well.
Jessica Bradshaw
April 23, 2007
I was just beginning to get to know Jim, after becoming the new owner of Rosetta Stone Bookstore in Carbondale, where Jim sold his books. He was a good customer as well. In fact, he was one of my first customers! I remember, because I had somehow managed to mess up the computer system as I rang him up. Luckily, he waited patiently while I fixed the problem. He was very supportive of the bookstore and local businesses.
The last time I saw him, we started talking about Lincoln Jr. High, which we had both attended. It turns out, though separated by many years, we had both had a certain teacher, Dr. Horst, who was one of the strictest teachers either of us ever had. But Jim also knew him as a kind-hearted man, who had adopted children and cared for them. Jim gave me a new perspective of him - which is what learning is all about, and Jim was a life-long learner.
We also both recalled the humongous roaches that roamed the school! I told him about my first encounter with a roach, and the "pet roach" my friend had living in her locker. Jim knew so much about nature and wildlife - even roaches - and, of course, loved them all... even roaches!
Southern Illinois has lost one of its finest writers and nature enthusiasts. We will miss you, Jim.
Rick Shelton
April 23, 2007
Dear Jim is gone. I have so many memories that I really don't know where to begin? How does one begin to sort through the years of friendships of experiences? Can it be done in 2000 words or less? Jim was a dear friend. I loved him & was very saddened to know of his passing away.We met in school in "honors Art Class". He was on a ladder painting a mural of Tolkin's Middle Earth. I was drawing cartoons of people in the class...and he laughed when he saw them. We became friends & everyday started hanging out.Although over the years we've taken many different paths, I knew that no matter where I was in the world or what time of day or night...I could call Jim.(of course, he may not answer the phone right away....but he'd get to it eventually..).We traveled to Madison,Wi. to viset Ruby..we had adventures, we picked up hikehikers & explored many areas of the Shawnee National Forest together, dug kaolin for clay etc.Ruby, Jim, & I ended up living together for awhile & I had my first Studio with him.I had a lot of firsts with Jim.Jim was a friend to me when few friends would stand beside me.He had an accepting attitude of disagreement.He was an artist & non-conformist, as I was.So our relationship over the years was one of deep friendship with understanding that is rare in life.
The last time I saw Jim, both of my sons, Sam & Zach came with me to visit. My sons & I always played chess together until they became better than I.When I brought them back to visit, I suggested a match against Jim at the local coffee house.( I also was dying for something other than "brown water" that I'd been having passed off as coffee..)Jim won against both of my sons at chess..Sam has never forgotten it nor Zach.
My first house was next door to Jim & Ruby.We shared a bee hive between our houses at the side.In those days, my then wife, Laura got up very early before dawn as I did to go to work. At the time I worked at SIU as A Bakery Manager. At about 4:30am, I get a call.."Rick come home ! THE BEDROOM IS FULL OF BEES!!"..
"Call Jim", I said...I was sure he hadn't gone to bed yet.She did & right away Jim came over to the house with a flashlight & Brown paper bag. He shut off the lights in the room, turned on the flashlight & put it in the bag...soon all of the bees went in the bag, Jim carried them back out to the hive! Jim explained to Laura that when she got up, the light in the bedroom had fooled the bees thinking it was morning, so they had found their way into the room through a crack in the bedroom window.
This was one of the things I will always love about Jim.He had an ability to always see things from another perspective.He always had a different way of approach that was unique & wonderful. I've had many losses of loved ones over the years, to cancer, to Aids, all of the negitives of the "human condition".It's never easy loosing some one.
In 1999, I lost my sweetheart & best friend to AIDS, but the memories of the times we had together will always remain a blessing & comfort.
I'll think of Jim when I hear the buzz of the bee. I'll see him at the creek sides digging for kaolin.I'll hear him singing along & playing his piano from Bill Middleton.."Martha my Dear.." or to the "Glory of Gershwin" in the middle of the night .
At my home in San Francisco, I have my own art studio now.At my drawing table the container that has held my pencils all these years was made by Jim for me when we were just kids.The clay that we dug together was used by him to make that ceramic jar.I'll always cherish the memories that I have of Jim, they are as many as I have pencils in that jar.
Rick Shelton
April 22, 2007
Jim is gone
Heide Nelson
April 7, 2007
Know matter what Jim was teaching I was interested. His souls still shines on us. Whenever out in the woods coming across new wonders, a part of Jims energy and life will be with us. He lives not only in us but in all those we teach to love the wonders of nature. Jim was a true elder to me and many others.
Keith Luebke
April 3, 2007
When Jim and I were in the 6th or 7th grade, we would follow the railroad tracks west from Oakland Cemetery to this undisturbed piece of land that seemed enchanted - thanks to Jim. We found salamanders, turtles, the occasional snake, various animal tracks, and complete freedom.
While in junior high, we discovered the space SIU rented for Buckminster Fuller’s World Game. Huge maps, books everywhere. It was incredibly exciting.
Later, we attended free classes at SIU offered by the author of Legends and Lore of Southern Illinois - Jim’s favorite local author (at that time).
Later still, when Jim got his driver’s license, we started exploring in wider circles. From Grand Tower to Ferne Clyffe. I still remember the frequent cases of poison ivy.
As freshmen in high school, we met Bob Russell and Mike Myers. It amazes me that any of us survived those four years. Camping at Giant City, trying to catch freight trains, and climbing cliffs.
Not to mention digging clay in remote pits that only Jim knew about, building kilns, doing Raku firings in the high school art room (in defiance of every safety standard ever invented), and so much more.
The time and stories that Jim and I had to ourselves came early. Sunday school and catechism classes. Back then, our brains still worked with reasonable efficiency. Reconciling public school education with Missouri Synod Lutheranism was quite an experience - at least until Garrison Keilllor came along. But Jim was much funnier than Garrison.
And then there was the music. So much music. For now, Judy and I will play Rhapsody in Blue (without Jim’s permission, I’m choosing the Duke Ellington version). Later, maybe some John Hartford.
Take care Ruby.
Tim Hastings
March 27, 2007
Dear Family & Friends of Jim Jung:
I was so glad to attend the memorial service for Jim on Sunday, March 18. As I said at the time my earliest memory of Jim is hearing him play the piano at the Carbondale Teen Town circa 1968 or 1969. Jim would have been a sophomore or junior in high school and I was one year behind him in school. Jim was playing the style of music one might hear at a melodrama. One of the melodies he played introduced the arrival of a beautiful maiden in such a drama. Jim's life expressed much beauty. I remember the way he used a plastic tag-making machine to punch an i.d. badge for his eyeglasses in high school. The i.d. tag read "glasses," and he wore the glasses and the i.d. proudly. The tag turned the glasses into a piece of found art; or, if you will, lost and found art.
I remember one Thanksgiving during high school when one of Jim's drawings was on display in the Art Department display case at Carbondale High School. Jim traced the outline of his hand and then placed an eyeball and beard on the thumb. It was a way of drawing a turkey many kids learn to do in kindergarten. Jim added additional touches to his turkey. He also drew the details of his fingernails and his knuckles.
Jim's hands drew beautiful vessels out of lumps of clay spinning on the pottery wheel at the high school. He was so relaxed in the way he kicked the wheel to keep it spinning and in how his hands formed bowls, pitchers, and platters.
Jim's life also contained the background music for the villain of life's melodrama. He hated to write papers and once told me that was the reason he did not attend college.
But Jim heroically conquered this villain and became the masterful writer of a successful almanac, newspaper columns, and at least one book.
His life is triumphant.
It was no accident that Jim Jung was my friend; just as Jim's life and death were no accident.
The night of the memorial service I read Jim's account of Priscilla Silkwood. It was no accident that Bazil Silkwood crossed her path twice; nor that he bought her freedom on their second meeting in Jonesboro.
Jim's account inspired me to start chasing some local legends while I was in Herrin, Illinois, three days after the memorial service. The first man I approached told me a Silkwood-esque story he witnessed in the 1950s. My source was convinced his experience was not an accident.
Blessings to all Jim's friends and family who keep tracing stories and unraveling all that is predestined to happen in life's drama.
I send ympathy with tears and laughter and praise to the Predestinator. What an awesome privilige to see what the Predestinator did in Jim's life!!!!
Tim Hastings
Jennifer Lawrence
March 23, 2007
Uncle Jim to so many. Look at these entries from all over the states!
Jim was kindof a cherished enigma for me growing up. I didn't see him much but my father would bring home his stories and show me how to do things Jim had shown him. I was envious a lot of the times in Carbondale with Jim, Ruby, Patrick and Ray because I don't think there is a person who met Jim that didn't want to spend more time together with him.
I took my boys out yesterday to explore our own hills, their eyes filled with wonder searching for evidence of spring. Talking to my Dad made me realize that Jim set the foundation for so much that I do with my children. And they are having such a wonderful time in the natural world, that I have no doubt that they will pass those gifts onto generations to come. That is your legecy, Jim. We love you.
May, 2005. Guarding the bridge at Lori's funeral.
March 23, 2007
Douglass Schumacher
March 22, 2007
I met Jim through my brother Andy when I was twelve (or thereabouts). Of Andy's many friends and of the people I met at the Upper Room, Jim was my favorite. They would often meet to play Risk and, for some reason, I was always welcomed at the game. I loved playing, but mostly for the laughs and more often than not Jim was responsible for those.
He told great stories. I remember one that started innocently enough in Egypt. As it progressed my jaw dropped lower and lower. I didn't start to realize my leg was being pulled until it ended with fish-telepathy in the Bermuda Triangle. (At least, I think my leg was being pulled...)
I am sorry Jim is gone and I wish all who knew him similar fond memories.
Josie Brooks
March 21, 2007
Ruby
I'm so aorry about Jim...such a shock. I was just beginning to know him and enjoy all his stories..he had so many. His almanac followers will miss his wonderful stories. Please know that I am thinking of you at this time. So sorry...
Nancy McGowan
March 21, 2007
Quirky, eccentric, and funny are some of the words that I was thinking too as I read other memories of Jim. But he was always there, a faithful friend to so many. I was at Jim & Ruby's wedding in 1974 where I met and became lifelong friends with Tere Francis.
Jim and Ruby lived just up the street from the Sisters House on Pecan St, and I always remember marveling at Jim's beekeeping and other nature experiments he always seemed to be doing in his yard. Our prayers are with you, Ruby, the extended family, and the Word of Life gang who all mourn his passing.
Terry Clark
March 20, 2007
I knew Jim Jung for 34 years. We were good friends. His passing leaves big gap in my life. God bless you Jim!
Taunya Stahr Madden
March 19, 2007
I have some fun and fond memories of Jim- Not as many as Clark and Keehn kids. I was always a tad envious, as a child, at the stories they would come to school with about 'Uncle Jim'- I fondly remember the cave in Ava and Mrs Francis or Miss Himebook (I can't remember which one)crawling through - and the Indian mounds somewhere in the middle of nowhere- I remember Jim bringing really cool animals to CCS- He was our own quiet 'crocodile hunter' of sorts. He threw a heck of a new years party and I will put a dragon and a large spider in my Christmas village to remember him ;). He touched many lives and will be truly missed!
DARLENE GREEN
March 19, 2007
sorry for your loss I live next to Tom jung every one here is praying for you may time heal your pain
Melanie & Alexander Smolak
March 19, 2007
Nancy, we are sorry for your loss.
Valeri DeCastris
March 19, 2007
Memories of Jim
By Valeri DeCastris and David Beccue of Rockford, Illinois
We are all so very sad…as any of us that had the good fortune to have been graced with Jim and Ruby’s wonderful presence are. I (Valeri) was lucky. I moved next door to them in 1979. With a bachelor’s degree in biology in hand and a full-time professional position in a SIU research laboratory, I was ready to settle down in Carbondale, as I had just lost my dear mother, and her twin sister in Rockford to that dreaded disease that took Jim too. An an only child (like Ruby), I was too sad to go back home to Rockford, although in retrospect, my father probably needed me there. It wasn’t easy for him to get up on stage every night and play jazz and entertain audiences as he has since 1938 after losing my mother, his booster and chronicler of his musical career. But alas, I loved Carbondale and it was good to me. So, I settled in to start my career in a house next door to the Jungs. Along comes Jim to call upon his new neighbor. We became fast friends, although we were different in many ways. Ruby didn’t drive in those days. She was involved in so many things. I spent many a day at their house, in amazement at how interesting it and they were. I called them the Adams Family, but really, they were much more authentic and much funnier and certainly more cerebral.
Later, I bought a house a mile or so away, but we still hung out together. Jim would take me hiking and make fun of my high heeled shoes (actually they were wedges). But, what did I know? What could prepare anyone for the remote and mostly hidden southern Illinois terrain that Jim knew like the back of his hand? I had hiked, but you don’t really hike southern Illinois until you are out with Jim. He had his secret spots, you know. Jim loved salamanders, caecilians, exotic plants, Herkimer the Snake, and this green earth. The Jungs raised mice in the basement and bred plants in captivity that weren’t recorded in any scientific literature I had read. For awhile, I wouldn’t even enter their house because of all the snakes. Jim would laugh at me and deride me for being a “so-called biologist.” I told Jim he should publish his findings in the literature. He finally started to show the world what he knew and loved in his wonderful Almanac. What a treasure it is. We have kept every edition. And, Ruby is an excellent writer in her own right. Over the years, I listened intently to Ruby’s readings from the marvelous tales she penned. She is every bit as bright and talented as Jim and what a perfect match they made. They used to say that their families told them that they were lucky they found each other. We were lucky too, because together, they were greater than the sum of their parts.
And oh how we enjoyed their menagerie of plants, animals and people that passed through their Poplar Street home. Later, after leaving Carbondale for Springfield, my husband (David) befriended them too. As an assistant park superintendent and fellow German from southern Illinois, he had much in common with Jim. We would always crash at Jim and Ruby’s when we were in town, and the door was never locked. They would never turn us away, whatever the hour. Jim would regale us with tall true tales and offer up elixirs and potions for whatever ailed us or didn’t ail us at the time. A more interesting couple and home could not be easily found. I did, however, draw the line at Jim’s home prescription for arthritis and didn’t let his bees sting me.
The only time I had disagreements with Jim were about outlandish cures, politics (he was a strict Libertarian and I am more liberal) and whether or not I really broke his nose teaching him to play racquetball at the SIU Recreation Center. What was I thinking? Exercising indoors? He was most “at home” roaming the hills of southern Illinois. Indeed he WAS southern Illinois. He had a wondrous child-like reverence for nature. And, he loved to teach children, and many called him “Uncle Jim.” He and Ruby were totally “non-establishment,” even by the standards of those who tread outside the norm, whatever that is. Such special people…
I tried to coax Jim a little over to the “establishment” in small ways. When I offered to clean his basement, particularly the cobwebs, he said “What? No cobwebs?” in mock horror. Oh Gomez…you are so clever. I talked with him about health insurance. Ruby tells me that they had some now, thank God. And I tried to get him to eat a little better. Although Ruby is a fantastic cook, Jim just had such a hankering for Barbeque – Jin’s in particular, and after they closed, other haunts in Carbondale and Murphysboro. He ate a bit like a teenager at times. He would bring “Gerber’s Mixed Cereal” nearly 500 miles to my house when he visited, although I would have cooked for him all day. He loved his baby cereal, at night, and defended it mightily. I remember how sad it was when Jim and Ruth’s closed, a small family market kitty corner from them. He and Ruby felt it important to support small businesses, even if that meant some higher prices for them. I always worried that they were struggling financially, but Jim laughed and said that I worried too much. He, German and me, Italian – like my marriage….such different cultures and ways of reacting to things. I was concerned that they were exploiting him when he worked at Freeman Hall. He wasn’t.
My and Jim’s cultural and gender differences were particularly evident on my wedding day. After we moved to Springfield and later to Rockford, he would occasionally come to visit. In 1998, I married my husband David in a 3-day, 400-guest Italian formal extravaganza (think My Big Fat Greek Wedding). I had admonished my family and friends to abandon the Italian tradition of greeting the bride to be at her father’s home the morning of the wedding. She is to cut a ribbon across the doorway with friends and family, symbolizing her entry to a new life. My modern friends and family respected my heated instructions NOT to come visit me the morning of my wedding. I have never been a morning person anyway and not particularly fond of talking to anyone before my first cup of freshly-ground French or Italian Roast coffee. So after 1 ½ years of planning, the day arrived. Of course, my girlish nervousness kept me up much of the night before, despite my being 42 years old and supposedly mature.
Imagine my surprise in my carefully scripted solitary morning, as I squeezed my butt into my first-ever girdle, while rushing around like a mad woman who would soon face hundreds of people for days on end. Alas, it is the voice of Jim, calling upstairs to boyishly “Val, what are you doing?” To which I replied, “What the hell do you THINK I am doing! It’s my wedding day! Get out of here. See you at the church and reception!” Of course, I was running late. I managed a smile until I realized he was in jeans. “Are you coming to the wedding in jeans?” “Yeah.” he said, “Why?” “Jim, this is a formal wedding. Everyone will be dressed up. Couldn’t you tell by the invitation? I don’t want you to feel out of place.” Not to worry of course, he wouldn’t feel out of place. What was I thinking? Aahh, the one and only iconoclastic Jim. He was, of course, the only one in jeans at the wedding. You could always count on him to do it “his way.” He was an absolute original. He approached me at the head wedding table at around 11 pm that night and said “See ya.” “What?” I said, “Now, what are you doing?” More surprises from Jim...He arrived and left with a bang. We implored him to stay at our house but he insisted on driving 8 hours back to Carbondale in the middle of the night. We suspected that he really didn’t like to be away too long from his lovely Ruby and southern Illinois. And he probably tired of all the pomp and circumstance in My Big Fat Italian Wedding!
When he would come to visit, it was for short stays. Once he rebuilt our hot tub. I insisted on paying him, of course, but really it was just an excuse to get together and for him to visit the state park that David manages. He was intrigued by the flora and fauna of northern Illinois too, you know. In fact, he tried, unsuccessfully, to get David to keep a diary of natural events of northern Illinois. He didn’t realize that urban parks are more about trash and snow removal and staff reductions than nature interpretation. There simply wasn’t time to comply with his many requests. And time kept us apart the last few years too. Consumed with our changing lives in Rockford, we didn’t keep in touch like we should. Just in the last few weeks before I knew he was sick, I was thinking about calling him. As Ruby retires early to bed generally, after I left Carbondale, Jim and I would talk by phone late at night, owls that we both were. He always tried to impress “The Man” in case they were tapping his phone and found great delight in inviting such shenanigans, just as he loved to shock political pollsters who called him and skew their professional predictions. “The Man” was never smart enough to fathom Jim and Ruby anyway. The great irony in things never escaped Jim. He even lambasted the State for its, in his opinion, inhumane laws that prevented him from legally owning a pet raccoon.
On a more serious note, I saw him through many a life change and crisis and he supported me through many. Always, he and Ruby were true friends and the best of people. Humanity could take a lesson from them. They always said that they were made for one another and how true that was. We must all support Ruby now. Life will be very different for her. But she will carry on Jim’s legacy. So, “there you have it”, as Jim would say and then chuckle in his hearty way. Rest in peace, dear soul. Travel to new worlds and explore. The universe awaits you and there are many wonders to embrace. Although you eschewed academics, you were a veritable compendium of knowledge that you freely imparted to all. Thank you for helping so many others appreciate the natural world. I suspect that right now, you are in wondrous awe at the splendor of the worlds unfolding to you and maybe you are engaged in a deep discussion with God and company about it all. There will never be another Jim Jung. God Speed dear friend until we meet again in the Garden! I hope it is even lovelier than your beloved southern Illinois wilderness. We trusted your instincts when we followed you into abandoned mine swimming holes without fear or trepidation. Trust us now – we WILL meet again.
Bill Middleton
March 18, 2007
Before I finished my work at SIU and left Carbondale in 1973 I lived next to the Jungs on Oak Street. My first memory of Jim was the week his parents were upset by the fact that he had run away. To a Shakespeare Festival in Canada. How can you be upset for long with a teenager who does something like that? Right before I left Illinois I sold my old piano to him for about what I had paid for it, some 45 dollars. I wish I had had the opportunity to know him as an adult. My sympathies to his wife Ruby and to his parents and his siblings, whom I remember very well. May all our lives reflect the values he demonstrated in his too short life.
Karen Reeder
March 18, 2007
Wonder, enchantment, magic, laugh, humor, friend--these are some of the words used to describe Jim by previous visitors to this guest book. I just wish I had known someone like Jim when I was young. Every child needs someone to teach him how to look at the world so that he can retain the wonder as he reaches adulthood and responsibility. Jim did that better than anyone. I imagine that the grandchildren of Jim's younger friends will still hear stories about "Uncle Jim."
Goodbye, friend. You made me laugh.
Kate Clark
March 18, 2007
I can hardly bear to think of a world without Uncle Jim. He left a mark on me and so many like me, who were fortunate enough to grow up seeing the world through his eyes. He made me feel brave and strong, and taught me the importance of wonder and enchantment. I will always remember baby cereal, pepsi, persimmon trees, the bubble gum store, the throne, chocolate chip cookies, his green sweater, and the field where fairies come out at night. I love you Ruby. Thanks for loving him so much.
Myra Harris
March 17, 2007
Ruby,
We are sorry at Jim's passing away. He will be missed. God bless you and give you peace.
Molly Clark Hankins
March 17, 2007
Uncle Jim taught me to love the outdoors. He taught me to love adventure. He taught me to question authority. He made (by hand) my most treasured childhood toys. He took me hiking, snaking-hunting, and caving. He brought magic into my childhood. He continued to be my beloved Uncle Jim and a dear friend as I grew older...
Beloved Uncle Jim. How I miss your booming laugh, your twitching mustache, your magic tricks, your stories, your eccentricity, your faithful friendship. May you find peace, find rest, in a better place. I love you.
Thomas Gray II
March 17, 2007
Jim Jung was my teacher, my mentor, my adopted uncle, my friend. I will never forget what he did for me, enriching my life and the lives of countless others by just sharing of himself. I for one am forever endebted. Jim I love you, rest in peace.
Nancy Schumacher
March 17, 2007
Jim was a friend to many. He had a keen sense of humor and always had time for a good story or to tell you one himself. He understood the natural world and was able to convey his enthusiasm to children and adults. Ball lightning, bees, pottery, hornet nests, corn flakes and hearts games are some of the things I remember when I think of Jim. He was an artist.
Andy Schumacher
March 17, 2007
Brilliant, gentle, odd (in a good way), somewhat of a contrarian; that starts to capture the essence of Jim. Children seemed to love him, and they know a good soul when they see one.
He was gifted with a quirky sense of humor and made me laugh sometimes in spite of myself. When I'd come to Carbondale and visit him, I really never knew what he'd be up to, but I knew it would be different and interesting. Publishing "Weird Egypt: The Case for Supernatural Geology," is pure Jim.
From high school when I met him all his life, I'd say he pretty much lived life on his terms, and that's not easy.
God bless and comfort you Ruby and all his family.
Betsy Bost
March 17, 2007
I send my love, Aunt Ruby. I thank God for the gentleness and care you showed Uncle Jim. My heart aches deeply for you right now.
Darla Loftus
March 17, 2007
Nancy,
Our deepest sympathy to you, Paul, and your daughter, on the loss of your brother.
Sincerely, Mike and Darla Loftus
Tere Francis
March 17, 2007
I have wonderful memories of Jim bringing his "critters" to my elementary classroom for science when I taught at Covenant Christian. He had the gentlest soul of anyone I knew. I will miss him and the world will be a lesser place without him.
John McGowan
March 17, 2007
Sorry to see Jim pass on at such a young age. He left me with a memory of one who was always gracious and articulate. God bless his family and friends in Carbondale.
Bob Russell
March 17, 2007
One of the best (and weirdest) friends of my life. I have never known anyone who was smarter than Jim.
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