James Lewis Pfrommer

1954 - 2019

James Lewis Pfrommer

Reno - James Pfrommer, 64, passed away on Sunday, February 3, 2019, surrounded in love by his family. Jim is survived by his wife of 41 years Gail; sons: Jonathan of Seattle, WA, and Christian, with Lauren, of San Jose, CA; granddaughter, Olivia; and brother, Mark of Portland, OR. Jim was preceded in death by his parents, Fred and Jeanette Pfrommer.

Jim was born on July 27, 1954, to Fred and Jeanette Pfrommer in San Mateo, CA. He attended Santa Clara University, graduating in 1976, and then moved to Reno and began his 42-year career in accounting. Jim also earned a Masters in Taxation from Golden Gate University. It was at Santa Clara that Jim met Gail. They were married in 1977 and settled in Reno where they raised their family of two wonderful sons, Christian and Jonathan. In 2002, Jim and his best friend and business partner, Chris McCune, founded the accounting firm of Pfrommer & McCune. Jim was an active member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Nevada Society of Certified Public Accountants (NVCPA). He was awarded the 2016 Public Service Award Recipient by the NVCPA.

At Santa Clara University, Jim learned the 3 C's: competence, conscience, and compassion. In Reno, Jim found his real passion in helping to serve the community. He believed that education was the key to everyone's success, and he worked tirelessly to further education, particularly for those less fortunate. Jim joined the Community Foundation of Western Nevada (CFWN) as a community advisor, and he served as a trustee for several years before becoming the Board Chair. Jim lived the motto of the CFWN, in his professional, philanthropic, community, and personal life: "Connecting people who care with causes that matter". In addition to his work in education, he was also spearheading the CFWN's work on affordable housing.

Jim was also a 31-year Reno Rotarian. He was the Past President of the Reno Rotary Foundation. Jim was awarded 4 Paul Harris Fellows and the Rotary District 5180 Quiet Rotarian of the Year Award. Over the past years, he had chaired and worked on many Rotary Club of Reno Committees including: leader of the High School's Rotary Interact Club teaching the principles of Rotary, Youth Services at Innovations High School, and Community Services leading the Reading Literacy Program at Sierra Vista School and Lemelson STEM school. Jim also read with his assigned students every Wednesday.

As Treasurer and founding member of the Washoe K-12 Education Foundation, Jim championed the AVID program (Advancement Via Individual Determination), which supports under-resourced, first generation students by providing them with career-ready skills. Jim had served as a Board Trustee of Bishop Manogue Catholic High School, where both of his sons attended and graduated. He was also involved in: Education Alliance of Washoe County (Past President), KNPB (Board Member), Nevada Opera (Past Board Chair), EDAWN, Washoe Medical Foundation, Our Lady of the Snows Church, Lakeridge Tennis Club, Hidden Valley Golf Club, and Prospectors' Club of Reno.

Jim also made time to travel with his wife, play golf with his sons, hike with his friends, attend numerous performing arts events, attend Notre Dame football games, and was a founding member of the Grape Basin Wine Club.

Jim was admitted to Renown Hospital on Monday, January 28, where a large melanoma was discovered in his brain. He went into emergency surgery to remove the melanoma, but it had caused too much damage too quickly. Jim had been diagnosed and treated for a skin melanoma 9 months previously, and encourages his friends to visit their dermatologist and doctor yearly. The family would like to thank those who sustained them, whether through presence, texts, or emails. A special thank you to all the superior doctors and ICU nurses at Renown who with their knowledge, skill, professionalism, and utmost compassion did everything to secure the best outcome for Jim. Reno is very fortunate to have the skilled doctors and nurses at Renown.

A Mass and a celebration of Jim's life will be held on Wednesday, February 13, 2019, at Our Lady of the Snows Church at 1 pm.

In lieu of flowers, Jim had directed the family that any donations be made to:

GIAR Grandmother's First Generation Scholarship, c/o Community Foundation of Western Nevada, 50 Washington St., #300, Reno, NV 89509, https://nevadafund.org/jim-pfrommer/ or Reno Rotary Foundation, Scholarships, PO Box 1750, Reno, NV 89505, https://renorotary.org/.

Online condolences may be shared in Jim's Book of Memories at www.waltonsfuneralhomes.com.