Jim Prunier

Jim Prunier died on June 24, 2024 in Orlando, FL at the age of 91 due to complications from aspiration.

A brilliant man and devoted husband, father, uncle and grandfather, Jim possessed an insatiable curiosity to learn. He questioned everyone and everything, relying on logic and insisting on principles as his guides. He took the pursuit of excellence seriously. Whatever project he took on - professionally or personally, he executed it to his highest standard. Whether it was developing corporate financial systems or building an elaborate cardboard playhouse for his granddaughter, Jim immersed himself to produce the best work he believed possible.

He was born on November 21,1932 in the Bedford Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY to Arthur Prunier and Bridget (Moffitt). His father's family members were French Canadians who settled in upstate New York, while his mother emigrated alone from County Roscommon, Ireland, arriving through Ellis Island. Jim was the second of six children and the oldest son raised in a strict Catholic home. The large family lived in a small, third-floor tenement apartment where Jim shared a bed with his two brothers.

A dissenter from a young age, Jim's personal campaigns set the stage for his future beliefs and decisions. He was an independent thinker who rebelled against the Catholic school system. At that time, corporal punishment was common, and Jim later recalled the domineering Catholic brothers whacking their wooden rulers against the disobedient students' outstretched, trembling palms. This further soured his feelings on Catholicism and would sow the seeds for his future atheism. He went on to a technical high school to learn the trades but left his junior year. Dissatisfied with his future prospects and yearning for more, he joined the Navy in 1950. As a conscious objector, he volunteered to be a medic so that he would not have to use a gun. Instead, he assisted Naval dentists and treated fellow soldiers in a harrowing environment in Korea until his discharge in 1953.

With no formal training, Jim began his career in 1957 at a brokerage firm in the role of computer programmer of a first-generation computer. In 1961, he joined RCA as a systems analyst where, three years later, he met his future wife, Kari. Throughout his career, Jim worked as an analyst and senior programmer for finance, insurance, manufacturing and payroll companies. Jim's self-taught beginnings not only paved the way for a successful career but also laid the groundwork for a life of enduring love and fulfillment with Kari. They lived together in Brooklyn Heights, then married in June of 1965. In the summer of 1969, they moved to Terrace Road in New Providence, NJ, purchasing the house from her parents. Jim and Kari lived there for the next 53 years.

Outside of work, Jim's curiosity continued. He possessed many interests, and he dove deep into each of them. He was a chess enthusiast and in the early '70's taught his four-year-old daughter and three-year-old son how to play. He organized a Chess Club in nearby Summit for weekly games. He read all he could about the game, studying the pro Bobby Fischer and others, which inspired him to write his own (unpublished) book in 1976 titled "Thematic Chess." It was 300 pages and included nearly 400 diagrams of possible moves and strategies. In addition to being an author, he was also quite a good caricaturist, especially when it came to his drawings of his wife. His homemade birthday cards to her were legendary, poking fun at her loveable idiosyncrasies.

While Jim was serious, he also maintained a childlike wonder and found joy in the silly and simple pleasures of life. For instance, he used his artistic skills to draw enormous chalk dinosaurs in his driveway so his kids and their friends could reenact "Land of the Lost." He built his coup de grace, the "Jungle Jim" fitted with monkey bars, rope ladders, and swings for the backyard. It became a go-to feature of their New Providence neighborhood for years. He transformed extra lumber into circus-like stilts. He supplied liters of Bubble Up soda for burping contests. During block parties, he led hunts into the woods for the ever-elusive Big Foot. Most impressively, he built a pellet gun shooting range in the basement underneath their family room, with a clever pulley system to change out targets. He served green eggs and ham for breakfast and doled out gigantic portions of ice cream for dessert. Jim was imaginative and FUN.

In 1977, Jim's his eight-year-old daughter, Aimee, innocently asked to play soccer. Little did she know what it would mean for her dad! Not only did Jim volunteer to coach her team at the time, (knowing little to nothing about the game), but he also immersed himself in learning more. In the short term, their team benefited because they became undefeated in their league. But in the long run, soccer became the center of Jim's life. While the players he coached were often excited about their standings, Jim's motivation was much more profound. He wanted to develop player excellence, with a focus on good sportsmanship and honest play. Jim was enthralled by every aspect of the game. He went on to coach his son Granger's teams and then many other teams in the New Providence Recreation and the New Providence Soccer Club programs, long after his kids left the sport. As a coach, he was known to be firm and encouraging, implementing new tactics to engage his players. Some of those included Jim's own handouts for "homework" and introducing bowling balls to the players to practice dribbling down field. Jim eventually became a certified referee who officiated indoor and outdoor soccer for several years. He also played men's soccer every weekend, continuing to do so well into his 70's. Always a writer, he became a contributor for Soccer Journal in the mid 1990's, sharing his opinions on the sport. In his spare time, Jim could be found in his recliner shouting "GOOAAAALLLLLL" as he watched the international games. He eventually started the Saturday Soccer Breakfast Club, which went on for at least a decade where up to 7 other men would join him each weekend in his family room to enthusiastically watch soccer, eat bagels, and pontificate about the plays and the problems in the world. They were a lovely bunch of gentlemen who provided a great touchstone for Jim - and Kari, too.

Jim's quest for fitness and better performance impacted his life. In 1978, to better his health and improve his performance on the field, he visited a hypnotist to quit smoking, a habit he had since his teenage years. Within one session, he was cured. Jim immediately took up jogging, setting his sights on the New York City Marathon. He trained methodically and successfully completed three consecutive marathons in his late 40's: in 1979, 1980, and 1981- finishing each in under 4 hours. One of those finish line photos remained on his dresser next to his framed wedding portrait of Kari. After retiring in the 1990's, Jim dedicated himself to physical fitness. While his soccer duties kept him active, he also took up bike riding and hit the gym almost every morning - a practice he would continue to do until he was 85! To relax, Jim loved Discovery's nature programs, 60 Minutes, comedies, and animation. In fact, it would be impossible for Pixar to find a bigger fan than Jim Prunier. In 2009, he learned how to record movies from his television's DVR. His movie collection soon mushroomed, and every family member and friend received his regular email installment of movie reviews...soon followed by a shipment of DVDs showcasing Jim's best current picks.

Despite a lifetime of independence, Jim's final two and a half years were spent confined to a wheelchair. After Jim's moderate stroke in May 2018 and a succession of mini-strokes that followed in the subsequent years, his balance, vision, and swallowing became compromised. Had it not been for those neurological setbacks, he probably would have lived to be 100, since physically he was in great health and needed minimal medications. His final chapter came in October 2022 when he and Kari moved to an assisted living facility in the Orlando, FL area so they could be closer to Granger and his family. They lived there for almost two years. Kari passed away from COPD and congestive heart failure on March 8, 2024. Jim died the day after his sister Dolores's 90th birthday, three and a half months after Kari, and two days before what would have been their 59th wedding anniversary. In accordance with his wishes, his body was donated to science so that students could learn from him. Jim is survived by his daughter, Aimee Prunier Stoltz (John), his son, Granger Prunier (Stephanie), sisters Dolores McGovern and Terry Crespo Charlton. Jim was "Grandy" to Amanda, Liam and Kyle Prunier and Simon and Zoe Stoltz. He was uncle and next door neighbor for most of their lives to Daryl Fornuff (Laura) and Katie Fornuff Ohnsorg (Rob Cirino) and great uncle to Trevor and Rebecca Fornuff and Dylan and Alexa Ohnsorg. Jim is survived by many other wonderful nieces and nephews who remember him fondly. He is pre-deceased by his sister, Mary Crespo and brothers Joe Prunier and Mike Prunier. Since Jim's passing occurred a few weeks before Kari's memorial service, the family has decided to commemorate both of them on Saturday, July 20, 2024 at Drew University's Mead Hall in Madison, NJ from 11:00am - 2:00pm. Folks are encouraged to share their memories and stories during the celebration. A luncheon there will immediately follow.