Jim was born in Nebraska to a Navy Chief and a housewife, but he grew up mostly in the San Diego area (Navy housing in National City, Serra Vista and Linda Vista). He was also an altar boy in the Catholic Church. In his early teens, he briefly considered becoming a priest. As a small boy, he stuck a finger in a wall socket and lost the end of it. He played Little League baseball. He was known to sneak into the living room on Christmas Eve and change around the name tags on the presents. He played basketball in high school and loved playing "air guitar." He liked to draw darkish pencil sketches of threatening anthropomorphic trees, and he loved to climb trees. He loved his mom's rice pudding and halupki (stuffed cabbage rolls). He also liked Shakey's Pizza, the Soup Plantation, the Bit o' Sweden smorgasbord, Jack-in-the-Box tacos, smoked oysters on Ritz crackers, and The Barbecue Pit. He sometimes got a nosebleed for no apparent reason, and he would take Mylanta for ulcer pain. He graduated from University High School, a Catholic all-boys school. One of his very favorite musicians was Jimi Hendrix (most likely why he adopted the spelling of his nickname). Of mostly Bohemian (Czech} and also English heritage (Vogltanz means "bird dance" in the Czech language), he was of medium height, with a flawless complexion, dark luxurious hair that appeared blue-black at times, a long neck, chestnut brown eyes, rosy cheeks, and a small mole like a beauty mark below a corner of his mouth. His handsomeness--and the seductive charm that went along with it--was completely male. He was a fun-loving risk taker, lettered in sports, and achieved high grades. He was quick and could definitely hold his own in a fight and did so on more than one occasion. He also had the "gift of gab." He was awarded a college scholarship in high school and did attend some classes at Grossmont Community College. He suffered from a gastric ulcer from his teen years. His first job, while still in high school, was in retail sales at the Country Store at Balboa Navy Hospital. There, he met his lifelong friend Gary during the summer of '69, and they would live together on and off through the years. They liked singing together along with the Johnny Cash songs "Burning Ring of Fire and "I Walk the Line," "Daniel" by Elton John, "Stand by Your Man" by Tammy Wynette (as did the Blues Brothers later on), and "Ooo Baby Baby" by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles. They enjoyed riding their motorcycles to the mountains and the desert. Pink Floyd was one of his favorite musical groups. Later on, he proclaimed a dislike for country-western music. He had a girlfriend who lived next door to his parents' house in Navy housing in Linda Vista and whose sister was married to the treasurer of the local Hells Angels motorcycle gang, so he had some interesting experiences hanging with them at events like the powerboat races on Mission Bay. Any time that he went over to the HA's house, though, he was told to park his little Honda motorcycle around the corner. He was so handsome, active and outgoing, all the girls would fall for him, as he was a fast talker and very handsome. In 1970, after his girlfriend left with her parents to another state, he began going with the girl who lived on the other side of his parents' house. They were married in a civil ceremony on February 3, 1971. There was a celebration dinner later at a Navy club with his family and his best friend Gary. He had been granted an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy, but he soon gave up his dream when he became a father and husband and settled for automotive mechanics. He had hopes of being a Naval fighter pilot, and would have made a fine one, but was told that his ulcer disqualified him. His technical skills garnered him a job at the Navy Exchange automotive repair shop at the hospital as a mechanic, at which he excelled, and he gradually built up a large collection of his own specialty tools for his work. He had two children, a boy and then a girl. Some favorite songs of his were "Born on the Bayou" by Creedence Clearwater Revival, "Whole Lotta Love" by Led Zeppelin, and songs by the Doobie Brothers and Pink Floyd, all in the '70s. Also, in the '70s he loved La Choy pork chow mien, Cactus Cooler, Marie Callendar's banana cream and coconut cream pies, listening to Wolf Man Jack on the radio, watching real estate home tours on TV, riding his motorcycles, driving his station wagon he customized, and camping and 3-wheeling in the desert with family and friends. Before long, Jim decided to join the Air Force. After his basic training course at Lackland Air Force Base (San Antonio, Texas) he was selected to attend the extensive and exhaustive 41-week-long Air Traffic Control Radar Repairman Course at Keesler AFB (Biloxi, Mississippi). He set the record for the highest scores in the course's entire history and helped mentor foreign military students. He was then assigned to Norton AFB back in California (San Bernardino). He and his family lived in Rancho Penasquitos and he would commute two hours to work on his motorcycle very early in the morning, rain or shine, and back home in the evening. He would accomplish highly-technical missions such as repairing radar systems in control towers at Nellis AFB (Las Vegas, Nevada) and elsewhere. Upon his discharge from the Air Force, he went back to work at the automotive repair shop at Balboa Navy Hospital, then was hired as an automotive mechanic for the U.S. Postal Service. Divorced on February 2, 1979, he then had a girlfriend with whom he lived in three different homes, then later met another girl at the Navy Exchange, whom he married. His friend Gary was the best man at the wedding. Jim and his new wife had one daughter. Some of his favorite songs in the '80s were "Only in America" by James Brown, "A Matter of Trust" by Billy Joel and "Money for Nothing" by Dire Straits. Much later, divorced again, he met a woman (no marriage) and they had a daughter and a son. He switched from Marlboro reds to Marlboro menthols, and loved Alberto's machaca con huevos tortas. He would rather begin his morning with a Dr. Pepper than a cup of coffee. He loved his trucks and motorcycles, Snap-On tools, and was a big sports fan. He often worked on friends' cars in his spare time, as well as other's vehicles for pay, and was a great mechanic. He loved grape juice from the Bernardo Winery in the jug, in the early '70s, then wine and 7-Up, then Bartles & James wine cocktails, then Miller's Hi-Life and Michelob beer, then Sam Adams, but he didn't drink very much. He served for a couple of years as the manager and chef of a dining hall for the Vietnam Veterans of San Diego on Pacific Highway in San Diego and was a very good cook. He was a very giving and generous friend, and an attentive, loving father. He had a remarkably technical mind and a great sense of humor. He passed away at his home on November 10, 2018, at age 66 after suffering from congestive heart failure for some time. He was cremated and a formal military service was held for him at Miramar National Cemetery on Monday, December 10, 2018. His brothers from Alaska and Washington, his youngest children and their mother, and his children from Virginia and San Diego, were all present, with his eldest son accepting his burial flag. He was survived by all his known children, ex-wives, and best friend, as well as two brothers and sister.
"Life is a moderately good play with a badly-written third act."
Jim was born in Nebraska to a Navy Chief and a housewife, but he grew up mostly in the San Diego area (Navy housing in National City, Serra Vista and Linda Vista). He was also an altar boy in the Catholic Church. In his early teens, he briefly considered becoming a priest. As a small boy, he stuck a finger in a wall socket and lost the end of it. He played Little League baseball. He was known to sneak into the living room on Christmas Eve and change around the name tags on the presents. He played basketball in high school and loved playing "air guitar." He liked to draw darkish pencil sketches of threatening anthropomorphic trees, and he loved to climb trees. He loved his mom's rice pudding and halupki (stuffed cabbage rolls). He also liked Shakey's Pizza, the Soup Plantation, the Bit o' Sweden smorgasbord, Jack-in-the-Box tacos, smoked oysters on Ritz crackers, and The Barbecue Pit. He sometimes got a nosebleed for no apparent reason, and he would take Mylanta for ulcer pain. He graduated from University High School, a Catholic all-boys school. One of his very favorite musicians was Jimi Hendrix (most likely why he adopted the spelling of his nickname). Of mostly Bohemian (Czech} and also English heritage (Vogltanz means "bird dance" in the Czech language), he was of medium height, with a flawless complexion, dark luxurious hair that appeared blue-black at times, a long neck, chestnut brown eyes, rosy cheeks, and a small mole like a beauty mark below a corner of his mouth. His handsomeness--and the seductive charm that went along with it--was completely male. He was a fun-loving risk taker, lettered in sports, and achieved high grades. He was quick and could definitely hold his own in a fight and did so on more than one occasion. He also had the "gift of gab." He was awarded a college scholarship in high school and did attend some classes at Grossmont Community College. He suffered from a gastric ulcer from his teen years. His first job, while still in high school, was in retail sales at the Country Store at Balboa Navy Hospital. There, he met his lifelong friend Gary during the summer of '69, and they would live together on and off through the years. They liked singing together along with the Johnny Cash songs "Burning Ring of Fire and "I Walk the Line," "Daniel" by Elton John, "Stand by Your Man" by Tammy Wynette (as did the Blues Brothers later on), and "Ooo Baby Baby" by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles. They enjoyed riding their motorcycles to the mountains and the desert. Pink Floyd was one of his favorite musical groups. Later on, he proclaimed a dislike for country-western music. He had a girlfriend who lived next door to his parents' house in Navy housing in Linda Vista and whose sister was married to the treasurer of the local Hells Angels motorcycle gang, so he had some interesting experiences hanging with them at events like the powerboat races on Mission Bay. Any time that he went over to the HA's house, though, he was told to park his little Honda motorcycle around the corner. He was so handsome, active and outgoing, all the girls would fall for him, as he was a fast talker and very handsome. In 1970, after his girlfriend left with her parents to another state, he began going with the girl who lived on the other side of his parents' house. They were married in a civil ceremony on February 3, 1971. There was a celebration dinner later at a Navy club with his family and his best friend Gary. He had been granted an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy, but he soon gave up his dream when he became a father and husband and settled for automotive mechanics. He had hopes of being a Naval fighter pilot, and would have made a fine one, but was told that his ulcer disqualified him. His technical skills garnered him a job at the Navy Exchange automotive repair shop at the hospital as a mechanic, at which he excelled, and he gradually built up a large collection of his own specialty tools for his work. He had two children, a boy and then a girl. Some favorite songs of his were "Born on the Bayou" by Creedence Clearwater Revival, "Whole Lotta Love" by Led Zeppelin, and songs by the Doobie Brothers and Pink Floyd, all in the '70s. Also, in the '70s he loved La Choy pork chow mien, Cactus Cooler, Marie Callendar's banana cream and coconut cream pies, listening to Wolf Man Jack on the radio, watching real estate home tours on TV, riding his motorcycles, driving his station wagon he customized, and camping and 3-wheeling in the desert with family and friends. Before long, Jim decided to join the Air Force. After his basic training course at Lackland Air Force Base (San Antonio, Texas) he was selected to attend the extensive and exhaustive 41-week-long Air Traffic Control Radar Repairman Course at Keesler AFB (Biloxi, Mississippi). He set the record for the highest scores in the course's entire history and helped mentor foreign military students. He was then assigned to Norton AFB back in California (San Bernardino). He and his family lived in Rancho Penasquitos and he would commute two hours to work on his motorcycle very early in the morning, rain or shine, and back home in the evening. He would accomplish highly-technical missions such as repairing radar systems in control towers at Nellis AFB (Las Vegas, Nevada) and elsewhere. Upon his discharge from the Air Force, he went back to work at the automotive repair shop at Balboa Navy Hospital, then was hired as an automotive mechanic for the U.S. Postal Service. Divorced on February 2, 1979, he then had a girlfriend with whom he lived in three different homes, then later met another girl at the Navy Exchange, whom he married. His friend Gary was the best man at the wedding. Jim and his new wife had one daughter. Some of his favorite songs in the '80s were "Only in America" by James Brown, "A Matter of Trust" by Billy Joel and "Money for Nothing" by Dire Straits. Much later, divorced again, he met a woman (no marriage) and they had a daughter and a son. He switched from Marlboro reds to Marlboro menthols, and loved Alberto's machaca con huevos tortas. He would rather begin his morning with a Dr. Pepper than a cup of coffee. He loved his trucks and motorcycles, Snap-On tools, and was a big sports fan. He often worked on friends' cars in his spare time, as well as other's vehicles for pay, and was a great mechanic. He loved grape juice from the Bernardo Winery in the jug, in the early '70s, then wine and 7-Up, then Bartles & James wine cocktails, then Miller's Hi-Life and Michelob beer, then Sam Adams, but he didn't drink very much. He served for a couple of years as the manager and chef of a dining hall for the Vietnam Veterans of San Diego on Pacific Highway in San Diego and was a very good cook. He was a very giving and generous friend, and an attentive, loving father. He had a remarkably technical mind and a great sense of humor. He passed away at his home on November 10, 2018, at age 66 after suffering from congestive heart failure for some time. He was cremated and a formal military service was held for him at Miramar National Cemetery on Monday, December 10, 2018. His brothers from Alaska and Washington, his youngest children and their mother, and his children from Virginia and San Diego, were all present, with his eldest son accepting his burial flag. He was survived by all his known children, ex-wives, and best friend, as well as two brothers and sister.
"Life is a moderately good play with a badly-written third act."
