James "Jim" Steven Srmek

Jim married Cathy Zajec on July 19th, 1975. Their daughter Jamie was born in 1976, and they moved from Bruce, Wisconsin to Phoenix in July of 1978.

He worked for Courtesy Chevrolet upon moving to Phoenix. He also worked at the Shell station on the corner of Cave Creek Rd and Tom Darlington for 5 years. He owned an Exxon that turned into Jim’s Full Serve for 10 years, it closed in 1990. These days it’s Big Earl’s Greasy Eats on Cave Creek Road in Cave Creek, AZ.

Jim was a Master Mechanic. His love for cars was incredible. The number of vehicles he built over the years had to be in the hundreds. He was capable of fabricating many parts even though he hated the word fabricator. He could talk for hours on end and was helpful with all he knew to those who sought his advice. He was also into drag racing for a number of years, it was something he and Cathy enjoyed together.

Later he became an avid fan of car shows and would travels over many parts of the state to go to them. He tried many times with others to get some started locally without much success. He encouraged others to do the same. He enjoyed the gathering of people and talking cars and motor sports.

Jim always called it as he saw it, didn’t mince words, and was considered by some to be brash. But if you didn’t want to hear the truth, maybe you shouldn’t have asked the question. He was a good friend to many. The best.

He was a loving son who took care of his mom until her passing a few years ago.

Jim is survived by his wife Cathy, daughter Jamie and her husband Robert Brummett of 14 years, and Jamie’s sons Anthony and Chase. He also has a brother, Jeffery, but they lost contact about 30 years ago.

He will be missed.