James Jim "Jim" Garvin

May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face, and all the rains fall soft upon your fields. And until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Arrangements under the direction of Palm Northwest Mortuary, Las Vegas, NV.

On May 22, my dad had a brain aneurysm and had emergency surgery the following morning. He did well but unfortunately, developed another bleed that following Sunday and had to have another emergency brain surgery. He made it through surgery but ended up passing away peacefully in his sleep a week later, with me by his side. I feel extremely blessed that I had those 10 days to spend with my dad to tell him how much I love him and that his family and friends had the opportunity to come see him as well.

As anyone who knew my dad knows, he was a different type of man. He had his faults of course, as all of us do, but deep down he was a kind, caring and generous man. He had a unique sense of humor and sense of mischief about him that kept myself and those who understood his humor constantly on our toes. My dad was the most hard working man I have ever met, he was a great leader and successful business owner and Nu-Power, Inc. was his pride and joy.

My favorite memories of my father include the times he would pick me up and we would just drive around to his different job sites. I loved watching him in action. I also enjoyed when he would pick me up from school and let me pick out whatever I wanted as an afternoon snack, which usually was a slurpee or diet coke and Hershey’s Special Dark chocolate bar. We would then go back to the Miller house and hang out in the garage and he would tell me stories and bits of wisdom he wanted me to remember. I also enjoyed driving around “road shopping” with him aka picking up junk dropped off on the side of the road. We would always go off roading in the middle of the desert to look for road shopping treasures and to look at rocks. One time, I fell in love with this large boulder and a few weeks later we drove out there together with his backhoe and picked it up and he placed it in his yard. When I was 16, my dad bought me a brand new truck for Christmas. I was so excited! And then I ran to the back of the truck and saw that there was large sticker that read “How’s My Driving? Call My Dad” with his phone number on the back. He also disconnected the radio in the truck. He would randomly check it to make sure it had not been hooked it up. I eventually learned how to connect it, and when he caught me, he wasn’t sure whether or not to be mad or proud.

My dad kept his sense of humor up until the very end. For example, when my mom moved into her new home back in September, she began receiving random magazines about Crosstitching and how to deal with your stressed out chickens. Along with these magazines came invoices. After the first two magazines, I knew it was my dad’s doing because I thought it was hilarious. Long story short, 7 magazines and books later, we knew for sure it was my dad. When my mom confronted him about he just laughed and laughed. I loved it.

In his final days in the hospital, my dad still had a sense of humor. For example, the nurses asked him the typical medical history questions to which he answered correctly. However, when they asked him his name he said “Kevin.” So the nurse would come in and tell “Kevin” to wake up and he would just ignore her. When I told her his name is Jim, his eyes popped open and he smiled and gave me that look so I knew he had done it on purpose. He wanted to be able to sleep and have an excuse to ignore the nurses. My dad was also restrained for his own safety while in the hospital, because if you knew him at all, you know he hated hospitals and being told what to do. He asked the nurse for a straw for his milk and then used said straw to try and jimmy the lock on his restraints. I later caught him sneaking the knife off of his dinner tray and trying to hide it for later, and I had to confiscate it.

Also in his final days, my dad put his cares and worries for others above his own. After having major brain surgery, his concerns were asking how my grandpa, who just had back surgery was doing and making sure my cousin Dottie made it home to Alaska safely. It was just like him to worry more about others than himself.

I want to thank everyone who loved and cared for my daddy. He was a great man who would give the shirt off his back to anyone he loved. I am pretty sure he never told me “no” if I ever needed something, he would always figure it out.

I am grateful that the last couple of years my dad had relaxed after working so hard for so many years. He enjoyed working on my house, raising chickens, gardening and playing with his two dogs Brown Dog and Gomer.

I will miss my dad so much. I will his random calls, the way he would always tell me “you look good, honey” even if I just rolled out of bed or the way he would say “wow that is so neat” any time I would tell him of an accomplishment or plan of mine. I am sad that my dad will not be there to walk me down the aisle at my wedding or play with his grandchildren, but I know that he will always be with me and I will be able to feel his presence.

I love you daddy and I will miss you always.