Jim and I didn't really know each other well in high school even though he lived across the street from my 'crush, Connie Moody. Our paths crossed one day on campus at the U of M and our friendship took off. Jim had an incredible spirit for adventure and i remember sitting at a table in Wiley Hall with him reading the Daily and he got all wound up over this ad in the paper to travel around Europe by rail and stay in youth hostels for a summer. He was insistent that we just had to do this. Well I was ultra shy and inhibited back then and this idea petrified me...I could barely make it over to Minneapolis much less Europe for the summer.
After college we both started our careers in the insurance industry and going out to nightclubs together. Jim was always very good at sales which served him well in the club scene.
One day years later, another ad caught his attention and he announced he was completing the application process to join the CIA and could he use me as a personal reference. Sure. Months later I got a call from a government officer asking questions about Jim's character and behavior. My mind blanked and all I could think of was those wild nights out on the town with him. I must have rallied my thoughts enough to the officers satisfaction.
After that Jim was out of state doing who knows what on assignments he couldn't discuss but ultimately ending up in Southern California. I mostly kept up on his whereabouts through his cousin Judy who, in this small world, was a business associate of mine. Jim retired early due to vision and headache challenges which turned out to be brain cancer.
When I think of Jim I hope a little bit of his zest for life and adventure has rubbed off on me.
Bob Malmgren
Jim and I didn't really know each other well in high school even though he lived across the street from my 'crush, Connie Moody. Our paths crossed one day on campus at the U of M and our friendship took off. Jim had an incredible spirit for adventure and i remember sitting at a table in Wiley Hall with him reading the Daily and he got all wound up over this ad in the paper to travel around Europe by rail and stay in youth hostels for a summer. He was insistent that we just had to do this. Well I was ultra shy and inhibited back then and this idea petrified me...I could barely make it over to Minneapolis much less Europe for the summer.
After college we both started our careers in the insurance industry and going out to nightclubs together. Jim was always very good at sales which served him well in the club scene.
One day years later, another ad caught his attention and he announced he was completing the application process to join the CIA and could he use me as a personal reference. Sure. Months later I got a call from a government officer asking questions about Jim's character and behavior. My mind blanked and all I could think of was those wild nights out on the town with him. I must have rallied my thoughts enough to the officers satisfaction.
After that Jim was out of state doing who knows what on assignments he couldn't discuss but ultimately ending up in Southern California. I mostly kept up on his whereabouts through his cousin Judy who, in this small world, was a business associate of mine. Jim retired early due to vision and headache challenges which turned out to be brain cancer.
When I think of Jim I hope a little bit of his zest for life and adventure has rubbed off on me.