James Lawrence "Jim" Marks

I met Jim about 15 years ago, when I occasionally sat in to sing with the Shoe String Band. He was an incredibly kind, welcoming and inspiring friend. I learned something new from Jim each time we got together. It was always great fun to sing together. I´m grateful to have reconnected with him this past year and play music again at the old time jam he hosted in his community. Many fond memories. RIP, Jim. Much love to Liz.

I met Jim through music. What a lovely, low-key, sweet, smart and funny guy. He radiated good nature and good humor. I wish I had seen more of him. RIP, Jim. Love to Liz.

I played with Jim in the Shoe String Band for close to 10 years and knew him for about 15 years. After the band faded due to the pandemic we discovered a mutual enjoyment of bike riding on our lovely Empire State Trail. And every moment of that time with Jim and Liz and the wonderful people I got to meet through Jim was a warm and friendly pleasure. I have wondered if Jim infected everyone with his calm demeanor and I think that´s the case. Never a cross or cranky word in all those years. Or maybe Jim was just a gravitational pull to nice people. I dunno and it doesn´t matter. Jim was a good friend, a fine musician, and we will not see his like again. I think about him everyday and I miss him terribly.

Jim was a steady and fun-loving guitar player and manager for the Shoe String Band. 'Back in the day', we played at distilleries, breweries, wineries, farmer's markets, Saunderskill Plow Days, weddings, baptismal parties, Rosendale street fairs, and parties. And, most recently, Jim organized a vibrant monthly old time jam at the community where we both ended up recently. He will be mightily missed in festival campouts and house parties around our area.

He came to work in the cytogenetics lab at Albany Medical Center. He was fun to work with, I remember he had a long drive to and from. He teased me because I was slightly older than him. I'm sad to hear of his death and my condolences to Liz and his family.

My first memory of Jim is visiting him at his parent's house in probably 1966. I being his younger cousin, who was also really into snakes, and any other critter I could catch and keep as a pet. Jim was also into snakes, and always had very interesting pet snakes. We had a herpatological bond, and later, bonded via music and the outdoors. Jim made me laugh so many times, it's hard to pick one that stands out. We are missing him greatly.

we were fortunate to see jim and liz this past mid-june and spent a classic new england summer day with them. a leisurely walk around rachel carson wildlife refuge in wells, then a drive to find a place for lunch (ended up by the water, mussels, bluefish pate), then back into kennebunkport for some exceedingly tasty ice cream.
we met up with jim and liz almost every year for some time now when they came to maine for vacation. always a good visit, even when the weather was less ideal than this last time.
i will miss his kindness, his book reviews, his identification of plants and flowers, the music, his sense of humor and a smile that was sometimes quite impish, his ability to locate a good place to eat.....

That he was a thoughtful, intelligent person. The very definition of a gentleman.

I met and got to know a fantastic cousin who I hardly knew before we were well into adulthood. Music, good humor, love and fellowship bound us together for eternity at the IceFest weekends in upstate PA and any family gathering from 2005 onward. I'll miss you Jimmy!!

I learned that you should cherish your friends, play music, never stop exploring, and eat lots of cookies. He was a good man and a friend for over half a century. I'll miss him.