Digital Workshop

It is with great sadness I must report the passing of Jim Wolfmeyer this past May 2004. I had tried to reach him by phone and email without success. I finally left a message on his web site's Guest Book.

Jim's brother, John, wrote to me today with the sad news. Jim will truly be missed. I am sorry I have no details regarding his death.

For those who are not familar with Jim's name, he had the most contributions on the IlluminatusForum Message Board. Jim help everyone. He was a beta tester on Illuminatus, and OPUS. Go into the OPUS Help section and you'll see a mention of his name.

Jim lived in Wisconsin near Milwaukee. I drove up from Chicago and had dinner with him and his wife. He stopped by my home last year and we had lunch together. Jim would drop all of us email from all the different locations he traveled to in his RV.

We have all lost a true friend, and a power Illuminatus/OPUS user.

I am saddened to hear of Jim's death -- I liked his no nonsense posts, and his sometimes impish sense of humour.
Characters like Jim are too rare nowadays.
I will miss him, as will many others.

Paul

This is sad news. I often think of Jim when starting a new project in Opus. Jim was a real teacher. He would rarely just give me an answer - rather he would ask the questions that revealed the answer to me. I felt honored each time he would respond to one of my "newbie" posts.

He seemed like a character too, with his beer coaster website with the "Route 66" music!

Jim's name is mentioned in the Opus credits. I hope the DW guys will leave it there forever.

Fred, I'm sure you consider yourself fortunate to have met him personally. Wish I had.

The end of an era.........

I too, was saddened to hear of Jim's passing.
His posts so often brought a smile to my face.

He will most surely be missed, and just as surely
never forgotten.

Chris

This is indeed a sad day for all of us!
He always was a person ready to help others. I am sure he is getting his rewards now.
I can't believe that I spoke to him around the end of April because I was planning a project and need some advise from him.
Now I understand why all my emails has not been returned since.
May he rest in peace. Amen

German

PEACE JIM.

I haven't been on for a while but had a question to ask. I fully expected Jim to be there (as always) with an authoritive answer and with his own special laconic wit.
Like everyone else I was saddened to read your news Fred but thank you for getting it through to the rest of us.

Condolences to Jim's family.

A shame. I remember him being ever so helpful when I first started fiddling with 2.6 version of Opus ages ago now.

Very likely I would have got stuck and fed up with it without some of his help.

I too was saddened to learn of Jim's death.

I was also one of the many peple Jim helped, particularly when I started with 2000b. I found his advice and alternative suggestions appropriate and practical.

Over time we chatted direct and found that we shared a common interest in country music. I can tell you that Jim's opinions on his music were just as forthright as his opinions on most other things.

Vale, Jim. We miss you.

Fred,

very sorry to hear about Jim. For me, Jim Wolfmeyer was synonymous with Illuminatus. Thanks for letting us know.

A friend I never got to meet in person - and a big man, leaving behind a big space. I wish there'd been a better explanation for his silence.

My condolences to Jim's family and friends, especially at this time of year.

Rob Kirkwood

This is sad news indeed.

Jim was always an enthusiastic evangelist for Illuminatus and Opus and always keen to help other users. He was also a staunch and often forthright defender of our product.

He is already sorely missed. We shall certainly keep his name associated with the program in memoriam.

I will be writing to express our condolences to his family.

Paul Harris

Gosh, how sad.
Jim and I crossed our forum swords many times in the past. But the one thing I always admired about Jim was his willingness to help others way beyond normal call.

RIP Jim RIP ...

I am still in shock.. This is so very very sad. Though we never met, I've known Jim many years from the early days of Illuminatus through to Opus. We had exchanged many emails and as most of you know, Jim was a unique individual.. a man of rare character and will be greatly missed. He was a huge asset to Opus users and someone who always would help out.

My sincere thoughts and prayers go out to his family.

God bless you Jim.

I was so moved by the outpouring for Jim, I did a Copy & Paste into an email for Jim's brother, John. Here's his reply. This may be shocking to some, so pleased be advised before reading further:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fred,
Thank you for the kind emails about Jim. I am going to keep his website up by paying the webhost each year. I have no idea how to update or to change anything. If you know how to do any of that I would like to try and continue to work on it. I have a lot of his software and for now, have his computer. Once I figure it out I will send the computer to his wife. She has moved back to Calgary.

Jim passed because Alcoholism got the best of him. Unfortunately, a very bright person's life was cut short because of the booze. He was on life support at the Army Hospital in El Paso for about three weeks due to liver failure and internal bleeding all caused from the abuse of alcohol.

If anything can come out of his death, it should be a very real warning about the real danger of alcoholism. I am not trying to preach, I drink myself, but from what I understand his average was about a fifth a day. I have no way to verify this, but it is hard to doubt judging from the doctor's reports and the painful death he went through.

Jim's wife Bernice does not mind informing others of his passing if it may help someone else out. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

If you do know how this web stuff works and could offer me some insight, I would be most appreciative.

Thanks,
John