Terrible News: Jim Blumenthal Passed Away Last Night

[Exhibitman]

Jim was battling cancer and passed away last night. He touched many lives and was a great friend and hobbyist. He will be sorely missed; the National won't be the same for me without him. RIP friend.

ETA: for anyone in the Portland area, there will be a memorial service at one of the colleges where he taught tonight at 7:30.

Maitripa College
Phone: 503-235-2477
Location: 1119 SE Market St.
(cross street SE 11th; 3 blocks south of Hawthorne)
Portland, Oregon 97214

[nolemmings]

Very sad to learn of this Adam. Just very sad.

[ullmandds]

oh man...how sad to hear...Jim was a good guy and had a great collection. My condolences and RIP Jim!

[atx840]

This is very sad news, had a wonderful time at the National talking with him...a truly genuine person and someone I really looked up to in the hobby. Thank you Jim for all your kind words and encouragement you sent my way...you will be missed.

Prayers go out to his family.

[barrysloate]

Unbelievable! Jim was one of the truly good guys on this board, and like Anthony a very young man, with a young child. Just awful and the second piece of terrible news this week. RIP Jim.

[Moonlight Graham]

My thoughts and prayers are with his family-RIP Jim.

[sb1]

Very sad to hear this, Jim was a great guy and will be missed in the hobby.

[irishdenny]

Mere words can't describe Just How Kind Jim had Always been to me!
From the day that we became friends on the 54 He nurtured me iN Every Aspect of the Hobby! Jim had a Natural God Given Ability to Teach, even the like's of me...

I'm going to hit my knee's now... He Really meant a lot to me, As I'm Certain There are Many who feel this way !

[mrvster]

has been lost

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by irishdenny

Mere words can't describe Just How Kind Jim had Always been to me!

Same here - a very wise and empathetic man who will be terribly missed.

[auggiedoggy]

I never met Jim but I would like to pass on my condolences to his family and friends. From the comments posted Jim sounds like someone I would have liked to have met and conversed with.

RIP Jim.

[GaryPassamonte]

Great guy and fellow hobbyist. Very sad news.

[pete zouras]

Sad news of someone I've had many pleasant dealings with here. My sincere condolences to his family.

[bn2cardz]

Very sad that we lost another great contributor to the board. Prayers said for his family.

[Orioles1954]

What was his user id?

[4815162342]

This is extremely sad. He was the first Net54 member that I ran into at my first National. His collection is unparalleled. May God bless and comfort his family and friends.

[barrysloate]

Originally Posted by Orioles1954

What was his user id?

I think it was just JimB.

[bn2cardz]

Originally Posted by Orioles1954

What was his user id?

Originally Posted by barrysloate

I think it was just JimB.

Wasn't it e93?

[barrysloate]

Originally Posted by bn2cardz

Wasn't it e93?

That is correct. Under E93 he wrote JimB. Sorry.

[CW]

He will be dearly missed, and was one of the truly good guys in the hobby, and in life.

[Orioles1954]

Thanks for confirming. What sad news. We made one trade in 2006 where I obtained a T213-2 Coupon Hughie Jennings. When I got that card in the mail from Jamie, I took it with me to the hospital where my wife was delivering our oldest. I have since sold my entire collection. However, I have held on to that T213-2 Jennings for my daughter. Jamie was a kind and spiritually sound person who drew much inspiration from Buddhism and the Dalai Lama and he will be missed.

[brian1961]

I never met Jim, but he must have been a wonderful guy and helped a lot of you guys.

My sincere condolences to his family, prayers for them, and to all you gentlemen that counted him a pal. --Brian Powell

[Al C.risafulli]

I'm pretty wrecked over this today; Jim was truly one of the best guys in the hobby. This is a huge loss for all of us.

At the same time, I'm thankful for the hobby today, because without it, I would have never had the awesome opportunity to meet him.

Condolences to his family, and best wishes for peace and strength.

So, so sorry.

-Al

[VintageBall]

Jim was one of the best people in the hobby -- a truly gentle person, a scholar and someone whose happiness was contagious and made the world a better place.

Here's a story about Jim: http://liberalarts.oregonstate.edu/f...ere-hemisphere

And here are two stories written by Jim:

http://fpmt.org/mandala/archives/man...es-blumenthal/

http://fpmt.org/mandala/archives/man...ntal-activist/ -- (click on full PDF to read entirety).

And for all of us fellow collectors, here's Jim's 2008 PSA Award for Best Pre-War Vintage Set: http://www.psacard.com/Articles/Arti...egistry-awards -- (scroll down for Jim).

He will be missed by many, many people in his field of study, in our hobby and in life.

Robert S

[asoriano]

A very sad day indeed. You will be missed, JimB.

Rest in Peace

-Turner Engle

[T206Collector]

He and I shared quite a few emails about signed T206 cards. He had this signed T206 Marquard that he sold to me about 5 years ago. Always quite pleasant to deal with. My condolences.

[h2oya311]

Oh man! Jim was such a great contributor to this board. I'm not a t206 guy, but I remember seeing his post with the 39 (or 40?) T206 backs all laid out together in perfect alignment. It was beautiful.

My thoughts are with his family at this time. It's a sad day indeed.

[autograf]

Sad news. Enjoyed Jim's commentary on all he collected and appreciated his different take on things with his love for Buddhism and the Dalai Lama as was discussed earlier. As a father to young children myself, that part gives me pause to be thankful for what I have today and say RIP to Jim and pray for those he left behind.

[Leon]

Saddest news I have heard in a very long time. Jim was a close hobby friend and one of the greatest people I have had the privilege of knowing. RIP my friend. You will not be forgotten.

[Kenny Cole]

Terribly sad news. Condolences to Jim's family. RIP Jim.

[kkkkandp]

I found Jim to be a very interesting guy. For whatever reason I found it an odd juxtaposition that he could do things like translate for the Dalai Lama and collect baseball cards, too.

And he had great taste in cards. He and I had a couple of very nice email exchanges when he started to pursue Old Judges.

Very disheartening to have two young guys die over such a short period of time.

My regards to his family and friends. RIP.

[three25hits]

“Let us try to recognize the precious nature of each day.”
His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama

[Jay Wolt]

I heard about this yesterday & its just devastating.
Jim was battling cancer a few months after me and we spoke a couple of times and had such a great outlook on life.
He was going through all the bad stuff while I was recuperating and he did more to comfort me, then I did him.

I hope he's at peace, he will be missed.

[mrvster]

post Jim's back run? in his honor

[jefferyepayne]

Heartbreaking news. Had the privilege of meeting Jim at the National a few years ago. He was the kind of person that was always more interested in hearing about your finds and your cards than talking about his absolutely incredible world class card collection.

A true gentleman, scholar, and all around great person. We can all learn a lesson from Jim on how to be humble and treat other people.

RIP Jim.

jeff

[atx840]

[Wite3]

So sad...Jim was a great collector and a fantastic person. Such a great loss. My condolences to his family, friends, and everyone who was ever touched by him. RIP Jim.

Joshua

[Ladder7]

Great, one of a kind guy.

[slidekellyslide]

What terrible news...two great guys in one week. RIP.

[vintagewhitesox]

Originally Posted by three25hits

“Let us try to recognize the precious nature of each day.”
His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama

A kind soul and a kind heart. I hope he is at peace.

[petecld]

I'm sure I speak for Derek Grady as well when I say what a sad surprise this is. Jim was one of those guys I saw once a year at the National and it won't be the same.

Peace to all his friends and family.

Peter

[mrvster]

thank you sir

[wonkaticket]

This year has been a rough one for me and this hobby. Earlier I lost a person who had a huge influence on my collecting when I was young Dan McKee Sr.

Now I have to say goodbye to one of my hobby friends Jim. I was lucky enough to become friends with Jim over the past few years. Jim was the definition of humble. He was a great person who made me enjoy this hobby even more. I will never forget the long telephone chats and late night auction closing talks. Jim was the kind of person who made you want to be a better person you can’t say that about many people today.

I admired Jim for who he was, and was lucky enough for Jim to consider me a friend. People always ask about those great hobby finds. Meeting Jim Blumenthal to me was one of my greatest hobby finds in 25+ years of collecting. He can never be replaced and the hobby has lost one of the greats.

Goodbye Jim.

[JeremyW]

So sad. One of the nicest guys I've met on this forum.

[MVSNYC]

Jim was one of the best guys in the hobby...and in life. I had the pleasure of spending some time with him over the years...He was such an amazing person.

RIP Jim.

We miss you terribly already.

[Peter W Thomas]

I have known Jim for about 20 years and worked on several projects and trades over the years. Only spent time with him in person at 3 Nationals - should have gone to more. Such a young man about the age of my son Chris. I am really sad. Farewell Jim, and very best wishes to your family. Peter

[oldjudge]

When I was a kid, my mother would be a pretty tough critic of those around her. She could point out the weaknesses of virtually anyone, but occasionally, very occasionally, she would get a small smile on her face and, gesturing to someone, say "He's a mensch." That was pretty high praise because to her a mensch was a person of integrity, a person of honor. She smiled because it was a pleasure to see someone like that. Unfortunately, in today's world fewer and fewer people fit that definition. However, Jim Blumenthal did, and with room to spare. He never had a bad word to say about anyone; he laughed easily and honestly. He was a brilliant man, a professor at Oregon State, a man whose diverse interests ran from religion, to the Grateful Dead, to baseball cards. He was a loving father to Ben, and to his new bride Tiffany, a loving husband. I am proud and honored that to me he was a friend. I'm shocked now, it all happened so quickly. My thoughts and prayers go out to Tiffany, Ben, Jim's parents and his family. To quote Jim's favorite group: All a friend can say is, "Ain't it a shame?"

[oaks1912]

Very sorry to hear of Jim's passing. We first crossed paths about 20 years back. Very interesting and knowledgable person to talk with. I'll think of him when I drive through Portland in a few weeks

[WhenItWasAHobby]

My sincere condolences go out to his family, friends and loved ones.

[mrvster]

Well stated.....I know when talking with you how often you mentioned his name and admired him......when I heard this news instantly thought of you my friend....this is just terrible news