James “Jim” Kevin Flynn passed away at the Veterans Home of California-Fresno on July 2nd, 2024. He was 70 years old. In death he joins his parents, Elizabeth “Betty” Flynn and Charles “Bud” Flynn, and his nephew, Kevin Flynn, after a worldly life dedicated to serving his family and the U.S. Navy.
Jim was born on October 9th, 1953, in Fresno, California. During childhood, Jim defended his younger brothers from neighborhood bullies out for lunch money, and tried to impress his sisters’ friends by walking on (and falling from) narrow fence-posts, all while avoiding punishments from Catholic school nuns who were his teachers. As a young man, Jim grew his hair out long and fought wildfire in the mountains outside of Ojai while studying zoology at Fresno State. He finished his undergraduate education at Humboldt State, majoring in Fisheries. His first jobs after school were with salmon hatcheries in Washington, where he met his wife Mary (nee “Ruffu”) at Tavolek Laboratory in Redmond. In 1980, Jim was craving the sense of adventure and camaraderie from his firefighting days and yearned to become a pilot, so he entered basic training with the U.S. Navy.
Jim enjoyed a 22-year career as a Naval officer, where he was deployed worldwide to pilot helicopters for maritime surveillance missions aboard aircraft carriers, managed squadrons for special operations and combat search and rescue, was class leader at the Naval Postgraduate School while earning his MS in Financial Management, and finally traded piloting for budgeting with increasing rank. During these years, Jim and Mary had two children, Lauren and Colin, and moved the family from California to Tennessee and Washington State following military orders.
After retiring as an Executive Officer and Pilot from the Naval Air Reserve Station Whidbey Island, Washington, in 2002, Jim pivoted to a second career as a Senior Naval Science and NJROTC program instructor, most memorably for eight years in southern Spain. During this time, Jim expanded his knowledge of Spanish far enough to encompass words such as “cerveza” and “gracias,” which he had occasion to play during treasured visits from family and close friends to his beachside home.
In 2018, while living in Modesto, CA, Jim was diagnosed with vascular dementia. In the journey from his diagnosis to his passing he was surrounded by loved ones. In particular, he was supported by his brother Mike and sister-in-law Dana, his son Colin, his close friend and neighbor Kathy, and several wonderful live-in and part-time caregivers. He was especially comforted by Kathy, his brother Chris, and their collective pack of dogs including Charlie, Jim’s fence-jumping, orange eared pointer who led unauthorized runabouts.
Swimming and the company of dogs both brought Jim immense joy throughout his life. His other passions included coaching youth sports, camping, traveling, and indulging in mocha almond fudge ice-cream.
Jim is survived by his two children, Lauren, 36, of Homer, Alaska, and Colin, 33, of Los Angeles, California, as well as his ex-wife Mary, his beloved siblings Mike, Cathy, Chris, Alice, Tom, and Brian, their spouses, and thirteen nieces and nephews. Nearly everyone who met Jim was struck by his warmth and cherished his easy-going company. He was deeply loved and will be greatly missed by those who knew him.
Jim will be interred this October at the Central Coast Veterans Cemetery in Seaside, California with full military honors. Those wishing to pay their respects can donate to reforest public lands, support a veteran’s pet care, or help an American learn to swim.
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