NEWS: Rest in Peace Jim a.k.a. SG Member: Reprobate

CULTURE: Rest in Peace Jim a.k.a. SG Member: Reprobate

by Keith Daniels

Jim, a.k.a. Reprobate, was a friend to many members of SuicideGirls, especially those from Los Angeles, where he once lived, and, more recently, New Orleans, where he relocated a few years ago. Around 4AM on the morning of March 22nd, Jim was sitting with a friend on a dock overlooking the Mississippi River when it collapsed, dumping both of them into the deep and swift-moving water. His friend made it safely back to shore. Jim never did. This morning it appears that his body has been located among the wreckage of the dock, and authorities have begun recovery efforts. He was 42.




Jim had “We the People” tattooed across his stomach, a fact that will come as no surprise to veterans of our Current Events board, a place where Reprobate’s sharp wit and seemingly inexhaustible knowledge were usually the end of any discussion he weighed in on. That he was out at 4AM would also probably not surprise his friends. Jim knew how to party.

Jim loved New Orleans. He once served as the executive director of the Louisiana Landmarks Society. When other people fled the city in droves post-Katrina, he stayed. He loved his town, but he wasn’t naive. The debacle that is NOPD’s handling of his disappearance would not have surprised him. He once wrote, “I live in a very broken city. Our streetlights don't work. The power goes out randomly. Our gangbangers have PTSD. We're not so Big or so Easy no more, and that’s fine for me.”

He was a father with a young daughter. At the time of his death he was working as a waiter, but had received his Juris Doctor (law degree) and was in the process of being admitted into the Louisiana State Bar Association. He loved Tom Waits. As a young man, he dropped out of college and toured as a “circus roustabout.” He was an Eagle Scout. He was a drinker and a fighter for what he believed in. He was as eloquent with power tools as he was with words. Jim was a real man of the sort they don’t make many of any more. The world is a poorer place without him.

His friends passed out fliers all over New Orleans and down-river for a week; they set up a Facebook group to coordinate their efforts. That was the sort of loyalty Jim inspired. Our thoughts are with his family and friends in their grief and loss.

RIP, Jim. Thanks for the well written tribute, Keith.

Damn. I heard over the weekend from a former member that he was missing. Held out hope to hear he was found ok. God speed sir.

I can't add much to that, so I'll just agree with it. He'll be missed.

I saw Jim last month while I was traveling for business. As always, he was a gracious and engaging host. We ate and drank well and talked of politics, travel, family and Ducatis (he was an enthusiastic motorcyclist and a Duc owner as well).

Jim was a stand-up guy who would do everything in his power to help a friend in need. He was one of the smartest and most well rounded people I have ever known, and a lot of fun too. He loved his adopted town fiercely - flaws and all - without sugar coating anything, ever.

I am proud to have called him a good friend, and we (and New Orleans) are the poorer for his loss.

Truly tragic and a terrible loss to all. He will be missed!

There is nothing more sad than the loss of a person who challenges you to educate yourself more just to keep up in discussions with him.

Rest in peace.

I didn't know him well, but he was always gregarious and wry, and quite well-liked by the people in his radius.

He went out like I'd like to think he came in: drunk and Irish.

Cheers to him.

One of the brightest people I've ever been lucky enough to meet. Rest in peace Jim. You will be missed.

Same. He seemed indomitable. I never got to meet him, and somehow always I assumed I eventually would. Tragic.

that's really sad. i just met him once in LA and knew him most by his commentary around here.
condolences all around.

I'm honored to have met him. He was always as kind as he was interesting.

respect.

One of...if not the...smartest people I've ever encountered...if only through this site. He verbally put me in my place on more than one occasion. It's a lesser place without him.

But since it falls unto my lot that I should rise while you should not, I will gently rise and I'll softly call, "Goodnight and joy be with you all!"

Beer and Valkiries are yours for the taking now Jim.

Mac

My condolences to his family and friends.

bye Jim... as you see here, you will be greatly missed...

One other thing:

Jim's sudden and utterly unfair passing underlines the sometimes-tenuous nature of life.

If any of you have been putting off visiting a friend or relative, or things ended badly the last time you spoke to someone you care about, don't put off mending fences if you feel the need.

Sometimes there isn't a next time and later never comes - whether it's for you or them.

I only ran into Jim a handful of times, as he was making his transition to NOLA from LA around the same time I was moving from Seattle to the OC. No matter what, unfailingly, he would always greet me as if we'd known each other for decades, as opposed to two drunken ne'er-do-wells who met over the internet. I always loved that- he was just that kinda guy.

It was a privilege, in the truest sense of the word, to be his friend.

Bravo, well said. RIP Jim.

I feel horribly sick over this. Just sick. He was one of my favorite members.

My heart breaks for his family.

Yes, sometimes there isn't a next time, and later never comes, whether it's for you or them.

Rest in peace, Reprobate.

Cheers to you, sir.

I never knew the man personally, but he was a hell of a voice of reason on the CE boards. He'll be missed.