James Clifford Longnecker

1960 - 2023

James Clifford Longnecker, 62, of Las Vegas, NV died November 3rd, 2023 of cardiac arrest. He was born on December 28th, 1960 in Cedar Falls, IA to Sharon and John Longnecker. After his formative years he lived in Minneapolis, MN; Auburn, AL; and Las Vegas, NV. Each city held people he frequently and lovingly spoke of.

He was a music man who gathered crowds at pianos around the world from Alaska to Australia. He played with his entire soul and brought everyone along by way of Elton John, Prince, Sinatra, Ray Charles, Mozart, Beethoven, and his originals.

When he greeted you, it was with a full-faced smile and when he played, he used all eighty-eight keys.

He had a wild, quick wit and the ability to make you laugh with your whole body. He showed compassion in conflict, gave rides to strangers, listened without judgement, raced his road bike against the rain, and was never too proud to apologize.

You can honor him by turning off the screens and turning on the blues while wearing a pair of oversized rose colored sunglasses. He'd remind you to not be so hard on yourself, that nothing's too serious, and to please, just call your mom when you get a minute.

James is survived by his mother, Sharon (MN), his former wife Cheri (NY), his five children Taylor (NY), Jared (CA), Cassandra (MN), Michael (OR), Peyton (NY), and each of their significant others, his grandson, Bobby Mac (NY), his siblings John (MN), Joel (MN), Josh (MN), Sarah (IA), Jeremiah (IA), and their significant others along with his 14 nieces and nephews.

His children invite you to join family and friends to his memorial for visitation hours and his final concert on Saturday, December 30th at the Oster Regent Theatre in Cedar Falls on the third floor between 2:00-5:00 PM.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating in his honor to Save The Music Foundation (savethemusic.org), an organization dedicated to building sustainable music programs in schools and communities.