My condolences to the Elias family. I have nothing but fond memories of the entire clan. I lived next door to Richard and Goldie, and even worked for “Dick” at Associated Textiles on Washington Avenue in St. Louis for a summer job. 
The Jim Elias family would travel by car from Dallas to St. Louis to visit their parents/grandparents in the summer.  I was especially close to “Jimmy” (as they called him then) and Mike. We roamed the neighborhood with much freedom. Karen and Greg were the little kids. I do remember Greg singing “California Here I Come” - we said he should go on The Tonight Show. 
Mrs. Elias was a kind and beautiful woman, who was just so fun to be around. I’m sure visiting her in-laws for two weeks was sometimes challenging- but she was always so upbeat and kind. 
I’m sorry to hear of you father’s passing. He was a mountain of a man, always in beautiful suits, looking like a million bucks. He had a very distinctive voice, I can still hear it.  
Those were great times. Think of you all in summertime, when the days are hot- remembering you swapped Dallas heat for St.Louis humidity. So glad you did- sending good thoughts and prayers your way. 
Terry O’Sullivan. 

I met Jim in 1995 and I knew Jim was the real deal immediately. Such a kind soul. Once I met Marlene I got to see such a sweet couple.  We bonded over common interests. My wife Laura and I will miss him deeply but know he is  in the Hands of God.

Jim was always very supportive of all those  he came into contact with.  No matter how big or small the accomplishment, when you shared it with him, he was always equally or more excited about the accomplishment than you were.  Even those things  where you felt you fell short, Jim found the silver lining and pointed it out—not once, but several times.  I don’t think Jim had an envious bone in his body.  That was the thing about Jim, he was rooted in his beliefs and his sense of self was very strong and it came through in all settings and interactions.  He was a strong and devout Catholic who loved the Lord and the Catholic faith, he was positive and supportive, and loving—and he was that way all the time.  It’s one of the reasons he was so loved and why I loved him as well.

In 1990, I called Jim and told him I needed to talk to him.  He called Marlene and said he knew what that was going to be about—i.e. that I was going to ask his permission to ask Karen to marry me.  So when I showed up at his office, we had small chit chat then I broke into my speech, capped by my promise to take care of this daughter for the rest of our lives spiritually, financially, and emotionally.  Jim took all that in and told me how important it was to deliver on all those aspects, then he granted me permission....then he added that because I was his size, he couldn’t intimidate me physically to reinforce taking care of his daughter.  But then he paused, and said, “you should know I’ve got three sons, and they are all good shots.”  He was kidding, but it gave me permission to have the kind of relationship where we could joke about things (at least, I think he was joking) and we continued to do so throughout the remainder of his life.

When I first met Jim over 28 years ago, after I got married to Karen, we played golf as a family every weekend at Brookhaven CC.  And every round, no matter how many times Jim checked on his bag strap on our cart (we almost always road together), we’d take off from the first tee and his golf bag would fall off the cart.  What he didn’t know for the longest time (or seemingly didn’t know) was that his boys would wait until he wasn’t looking and loosen the bag strap on the cart.  There’s a big part of me that thinks he knew that and allowed it to happen for the comedic effect.  It was his part to play and he knew his boys would get a charge out of it—even at the expense of his Ping left-handed golf clubs, with matching bag and umbrella.  He was ok with being the foil for his kids because he knew they’d get a chuckle out of it and it was more important than his potential frustration.

OBITUARY

James M. Elias

27 April, 1930 – 22 May, 2018

Calvary Hill Funeral Home & Cemetery

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