Mayville – James “Jim” K. Webb, 72, of Mayville, NY, passed away unexpectedly on Monday, June 15, 2020, following a brief illness, at his home.
He was born December 16th, 1947, in Westfield, NY, the son of the late Paul Valentine Webb and Nadine Henderson Webb.
He was a graduate of Mayville Central School, class of 1966. After high school, he attended Gannon University and was initiated as a member of the Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity. Jim finished his formal education at Ohio State before being drafted into the Army National Guard.
Jim was a born businessman and was proud to work in the family business. He often spoke about being self-sufficient at age 10, while contributing to the family business. At twelve years old, he was the youngest shareholder of Ford Stock and attended the annual shareholders meeting in 1959.
After being honorably discharged from the National Guard, he went on to run the family business, Webb’s: Motel, Candies, Captains Table Restaurant, Bowling Lanes, and Chautauqua Lake Marina. He also helped facilitate the development of Webb’s Candies in Davenport, Florida, and Webb’s Copper Top Restaurant in Lake Whales, Florida. After Jim and wife (Sally) purchased Webb’s Captains Table and Webb’s Bowling Lanes in 1985, he went on to co-develop Webb’s Square with his brother, John Webb in Davenport, Florida. Jim and Sally purchased and developed other properties, culminating with “The Lodge at Chautauqua Lake.” The fractional-condominium hotel is scheduled to open in the late spring of 2021.
Early on, Jim answered the call to serve his community as a Director on the Chautauqua County Vacationland Association (now Chautauqua County Visitors Bureau) and was the board president in 1984-1985, presiding over the transformation into a tax-exempt non-profit corporation in 1985. He served as a director of the New York State Restaurant Association, Sea Lion Project, local Chamber of Commerce Chapter, and the Village of Mayville Planning Board. He was a founding member of the Mayville Ice Castle Extravaganza (now Presidents Day Winter Festival) and was instrumental in bringing the Chautauqua Lake Pops (Floating Stage) to Mayville.
Jim enjoyed being an entrepreneur and helping to promote the community. He also enjoyed traveling with his wife and family, golfing, boating, and cheering for the Buffalo Bills, “The Twelfth Man.” He also enjoyed spending time with the family watching the Cleveland Indians as well as the Kansas City Royals during spring training in Florida. You may have caught him early in the morning, “paying attention to the details,”; taking care of the Flowers, and making sure things were picked up and swept in front of Webb’s. He enjoyed all levels of politics, working on his brother Johns’ campaigns in the ’90s, and most of all, spending time with his entire family!
He is survived by his loving wife; Sally Thuran Webb, whom he married June 20th, 1970, a daughter; Heather (Mike) Mihalek of Cleveland, OH, a son; Benjamin (Amy) Webb of Mayville, NY, four grandchildren; Merrik and Maguire Mihalek and Teagan and Cord Webb, his brother John (Kathy) Webb of Winter Haven, FL, his sister Mary (Gary) Peck of Westfield, NY, his brother Paul (Judy) Webb of Mayville, NY, brother in law; Richard Straitiff of North Meyers Beach, FL, and many nieces, nephews, and cousins. He was preceded in death by his parents and a sister, Anne Straitiff.
A private graveside ceremony took place in the Mayville Cemetery on Friday, June 19th, 2020. A celebration of Jim’s life will take place on July 5th, at Webb’s Captains Table, time will be determined.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the Village of Mayville Fourth of July Committee, P.O. Box 229, Mayville, NY, 14757; Chautauqua Lake Pops, Bemus Bay Pops, Inc., P.O. Box 9250, Bemus Point, NY, 14712; President’s Day Weekend Winter Festival, P.O. Box 27, Jamestown, NY, 14702 and The Village of Mayville Volunteer Fire Department, P.O. Box 2, 1 South Erie Street, Mayville, NY, 14757.
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