As you can imagine, by being Jim’s only son, we were so very close. Jim was as much of a friend to me as he was my father. His friends were mine and mine his. Sometimes it’s easy to lose sight of how much we meant to each other – but it was very apparent from any on-looker's point of view. Everybody we came in contact with was amazed at how tight a father-son relationship could be. I cannot even begin to describe how his passing affects me – I feel like I’ve lost my limbs, but Jim would want me to carry on his legacy in a positive, constructive manner. I will never be Jim, but I will strive to be “like” Jim in the so many ways he championed the human spirit.
Jim touched everybody with life and laughter. He worked hard, played hard and enjoyed both with equal passion. He will be greatly missed, but never forgotten. His loving son, Steve.
Dear God
With all due respect, I think that you have made a mistake. “Big Jim” Furniss was not supposed to die.
Oh, eventually he would have passed away, of course, we all do. But not now. Jim was living his life to the fullest. He was a very special person who enhanced the lives of others with his always happy personality, and he was supposed to keep going on doing that for years to come. I know this is not what you meant, Lord. So I have to ask, “What went wrong?
Good men do die before their time and all we can do is grieve and go on. It is just that, here and now, there is so much to grieve for. The family Jim left behind mourns for him. His friends at Tommy Duff’s are hurting badly and his “Bluegrass Pickin” friends will miss him as they would a brother. He was truly a good man whose family always came first and who he loved and supported every day of his life. Jim was an inspiration and he will be remembered as one of those people who passed amongst us and genuinely left a mark. So it only leaves us to wonder why?
Jim was on your team Lord. A man of faith, and he was never afraid to show that faith. In the Bible somewhere it says something like, “it is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.” With the darkness seeming just a little bit blacker today, please allow me to follow that advice and light the following candle:
“Big Jim’s” world was a world that was free of despair. Defeat in business meant the loss of the battle, but never the war (a war in which he came back stronger than ever and won handily). He delighted in entertaining us with Christmas Carols every Christmas Eve. Who can forget the bluegrass he played with his group that Sunday morning at Chapel by the Sea; or Jim leading “Unclaimed Baggage” as the opening band at this year’s Boat Yard Bash; or his inauguration night as president of the Five-0-Five Club; or simply making our afternoon happy hours a better place by allowing us, for countless hours, to listen and laugh at his homespun humor of actual events in his own life (like crashing a hot air balloon into an outdoor wedding in Aspen, Colorado). Jim’s enthusiasm for life and his ability to relax was infectious to all of us who were fortunate enough to have known him and spend time with this “man for all seasons.”
If this is foolishness let me, like so many others before me, speak in praise of folly. It is people like “Big Jim” Furniss who keep our own world running when cynics withdraw to their iron towers.
I accept the fact that those you call home do not return, Lord. We who remain will have to be content with years of having known this wonderful gentle giant. It is funny how Jim was with us and entertained us all these years and suddenly they do not seem like nearly enough.
But Lord, please grant me the consolation of knowing that, right now, “Big Jim” is sitting on a barstool in “That Mansion in the Sky” picking his guitar and singing bluegrass songs, with a martini in his hand and that big smile on his face that we will always remember.
We will all see you someday Jim, keep us some seats at the bar.
Joe Burdette, Clearwater Florida, May 28th, 2007
Anyone wishing to make a donation in Jim's name is welcomed to do so to either of the following charitable organizations which Jim actively supported:
Chapel By the Sea 54 Bay Esplanade, Clearwater Beach, FL 33767 (727) 446-0430 www.chapelbythesea.net.
Mary Kay Ash Charitable Foundation P.O. Box 799044, Dallas, TX 75379-9044 1-877-MKCARES www.mkacf.org.
Jim's fantastic (if not a bit bizzare...) original artwork can be seen at www.bigjimfurniss.com.
Please forward any pictures, stories, memories, comments or anything else we can use here to chronicle Jim's amazing life to steve@tranware.com.