James Ernest Jump

James Ernest John Jump, Sr. of East Jewett, NY and Houston, TX passed away in Houston on October 17 at the age of 87. He was born in Yonkers, NY on July 8, 1937 to Julia Josephine Sheehan and Donald Losee Jump of West New York, NJ. As a child, Jim was a devout catholic, an altar boy, and considered a calling to the priesthood.
Shortly after falling in love with his soon to be his first wife Margaret (Carol) Thomas, Jim packed up and headed south to Louisiana State University in 1957, where he studied history and how to throw a dinner party with good wine. During his time at LSU, Jim met his closest lifelong friends, Charles Freeman and Bob Heard, served as President of Phi Delta Theta, and welcomed the first two of his seven children, Jimmy Jr. in 1959 and Julie in 1961. When he wasn't leading Greek life, participating in the burgeoning Civil Rights movement in the South, or writing controversial editorials in the college newspaper, Jim worked at a Dude Ranch in upstate New York close to where he spent summers as a teenager. It was during this time that Jim began to rent and eventually purchased his beloved Cabin in East Jewett, NY, which was to become a summer vacation ritual, family touchstone, and central obsession for the remainder of his life.
After graduating from LSU in 1962, Jim worked briefly in upstate NY before moving his family and settling in Houston, TX and welcoming their third child, Jeffrey, in 1964 and fourth child, Jeremy, in 1969. Jim took advantage of the oil boom and burgeoning Houston economy by joining and later founding various companies devoted to the printing and graphics needs for local businesses. With business booming, Jim realized his dream of owning a Rolls-Royce and settled his family in the Memorial area. In his days of financial success, Jim prided himself on creating a "work hard, play hard" environment, throwing big parties for employees and clients.
During his time as founder and President of National Graphics, Jim met his second wife, Vicki Kenner, where they both worked hard to build the business. Later, they welcomed the birth of Jim's fifth, sixth, and seventh children, Daniel, Nick, and Meghan, in 1985, 1987, and 1988 respectively.
The 1927 Max Ehrmann poem "Desiderata" hangs prominently over the fireplace at The Cabin, and Jim admired it and spoke of it like a personal credo. To the occasional terror of his children and often to their comic relief, Jim notably ignored the poem's request to "gracefully surrender the things of youth." When a new motorbike was given as a birthday present, Jim was the first one to hop on to demonstrate to his sons how to ride it, only to end up accelerating too quickly and flying up a hill and head-first into a stone fire pit. This was not Jim's first (or last) vehicular mishap, as years earlier he'd mounted Jimmy's Honda 125 to pop the clutch and fly into a parked tree. Jim believed that 7 years old was as good a time as any to learn to drive a car, that 11 years old was when one should start ordering wine at a restaurant, and that children should try calamari, escargot, bánh mì (with pâté!), and oyster stew as soon as humanly possible.
Jim could be a lot like the boisterous, multiphonic, urgent symphonies and military marches he played as the morning bugle call to rouse his children and guests at The Cabin. Jim could create a whirlwind of energy, conducting his children into the wild march of cleaning, baking pies, pouring drinks, and trimming trees. Getting caught up in the noise and haste, you could almost miss the Jim who was quiet, contemplative, sentimental; the one who would climb into a deer stand and meditate with "Manitou" over a cooling cup of strong black coffee. In his later years, Jim's son Nick showed him how he could still feel productive now that he could no longer whip up a frenzy of activity for himself or others. Jim would spend hours quietly painting rocks and other trinkets, soaking in the sun and gentle breeze coming through the tall pines at The Cabin.
In the final days of his life, Jim was able to fully embrace and embody the most important call to action in "Desiderata": "Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence."
Jim was preceded in death by his first wife Margaret (Carol) Thomas Jump and his brother Donald Xavier Jump. He is survived by his second wife Vicki Jump, and his seven children, James (Jimmy) Jump Jr., Julie Blessing, Jeffrey Jump and Jeremy Jump of Houston, TX, Daniel Jump of Redding, CT, Nicholas Jump of Los Angeles, CA, and Meghan Humphries of Houston, TX. He is also survived by eight grandchildren, Sarah Smith, Lauren Walters, Addison Bunnell, Sydney Jump, Jordan Jump, Morgan Jump, Mackenzie Jump, and Charlie Humphries, and three great-grandchildren, Taylor Smith, Ally Walters, and Ethan Walters.
A private memorial will be held in November in Houston and on a date to be determined in East Jewett, NY. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in Jim's memory to the Mountain Top Arboretum, a public garden in the Catskill Mountains dedicated to displaying and managing native plants of the northeastern US.