The following entries are from the CaringBridge page that Jim used to provide updates about his hospice journey in April, 2025
April 3, 2025
Post by Jon
On March 24th, Jim was unable to complete his regularly scheduled outpatient dialysis session and was sent to Mt. Nittany Medical Center for evaluation. On April 1st, Jim was transferred to Geisinger Medical Center, where a diagnostic heart catheterization confirmed that his coronary artery disease has advanced beyond repair or further intervention.
On April 4th Jim chose spend his remaining days making memories with his loved ones in the comfort of hospice care at UPMC Family Hospice; contact details are provided in the post below.
Jim will be be relocating to the hospice facility on Saturday afternoon, 4/5, and this page will be updated when he is ready to entertain guests who wish to visit him.
Jim's family will be using this page to share updates on his journey with his friends & families.
April 5, 2025
Post by Jim
Dear Friends,
Thanks to an amazing amount of work on the part of my son Jon (pictured here!) and two very young yet capable ambulance drivers, I have made the journey, potholes included, across the wonderful highways of Pennsylvania from Danville to the care facility here in Pittsburgh.
I am feeling very well; my vital signs are all within normal range, and I am happy that my daughter Chelsea expects to join us here soon. Having said that, we're hoping to host a get-together early in the week for those of you who are able to make the trip here (details likely to follow tomorrow)
I am really grateful to each one of you for your encouragement, loving comments and prayers. And for those of you who know me best - I have access to playing cards & a game room :)
Jim
April 6, 2025
Post by Jim
I was able to rest comfortably through the night, and it was nice to know that when I needed a pillow shifted or something to help me continue to be comfortable enough to sleep, that there was a very cheerful RN just a push button away. My vital signs are all within normal range again today, as they have been since I arrived. I do not have my mobility scooter available to me (yet!) so my son was kind enough to give me a brief tour of the amenities available to me here. Today I am looking forward to a visit from my daughter in law and granddaughters and possibly a lifelong friend who is driving here from Arkansas.
A horse walks in to the doctor's office, and the doctor says, "why the long face?" :) Hope that provides a smile - feel free to retaliate!
April 7, 2025
Post by Jim
Dear Friends,
I experienced the best night's sleep since I have arrived here in Pittsburgh! This morning's breakfast was unusually composed of things I really like; scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, a slice of toast, some fresh blackberries courtesy of my son, and a little bit of juice. My vital signs remain strong & normal and my attitude remains mostly cheerful and positive, and looking forward to what each day holds for me. Today that includes a visit from my good friends Ken & Stephanie, and my lifelong friend Jim Coleman, who is driving here from Arkansas believe it or not.
Yesterday I was blown away by a surprise visit from a dear friend from my days at PFBC named Larry Ramey. My granddaughters were also here to visit me, along with my daughter-in-law Annie and my son and after hearing another wonderful message by my good friend Reverand Dan Nold, I was prompted by the Spirit to take action on what I had been taught, and made arrangements to wash my family's feet. I will fill you in tomorrow on how things go today!
April 8, 2025
Post by Jim
Good morning all - I am out finalizing a few preparations for Dad to host a few close friends later today. He remains in great spirits and I’m sure he will post this evening to share how his day went, I just didn’t want to disappoint any of you that may have been waiting in great anticipation for today’s breakfast post (my overnight oats were delicious!) 😁
If any of you would like to connect via phone or FaceTime with Dad, I suspect that his social calendar will be will be open and available tomorrow. Feel free to reach out to me via text at 412-592-3346, and I appreciate your understanding if I do not have an opportunity to respond today
April 9, 2025
Post by Jim
Hello friends! Thank you for following my page; I hope you will continue for as long as I'm able to publish it. The photo today is of my favorite baby girl Chelsea, who surprised me by showing up yesterday.
Thanks to no small effort by my son Jon, with the cooperation of the wonderful people here at Canterbury Place, we were granted use of the kitchen & dining area so that I could entertain several friends, enjoy some good food, some good music, and more importantly, share some good memories from our long history with each other.
While all of that was most enjoyable, it was also somewhat exhausting, and so I returned to my room and with the help of a few drugs from my nurse, got a really great night's sleep. I'm now looking forward to what today holds. My vital signs and general attitude remain strong, my doctor has upgraded my condition to routine care; they feel like they need to check in on me less often. I hope that those of you that I have not been able to visit with face to face will still consider calling me on the phone or texting Jon to arrange facetime. There are beautiful sunny skies here, but it's only 35 degrees outside so I probably will not be using my mobility scooter to make a break from the premises today :)
April 10, 2025
Post by Jim
Hello friends, I am still here! I apologize that this post is being done at 5pm where typically I try to post in the morning, however, my son had to take care of the family pet today, who is ailing from a damaged disc in its back. But anyway - here we are!
I am still feeling well; my vital signs this morning were once again strong and normal. I have begun to feel myself slowing down & requiring more rest today, as my doctors told me to expect. I have been taking more naps, and at night, sleeping very well (thank you, Ativan!)
I had a wonderful phone call yesterday from a long time family friend, Hugh Givens. Hugh and his wife Nancy live on the southwest side of State College. Many years ago, they hired my daughter Chelsea to be their full time nanny/childcare provider. She continued in this position day after day for approximately 8 years. After witnessing Chelsea’s son, Exodus, be dedicated in church, along with witnessing the day to day testimony of Chelsea’s life, Hugh made his own commitment to follow Jesus. Subsequently, he was baptized in the pool behind his home, along with two of his daughters, and with his entire family and Chelsea’s family present. Hugh recounted that history with me during our call yesterday. I thanked him for the opportunity he gave my baby girl to become his childcare provider, and all that she learned by doing that.
My son and my good friend Jim Coleman remain at my side, and I look forward to what day 7 holds. Please remember that I am still able to accept your phone calls or visits; I hope you are all well!
Love, Jimmy
P.S. Going out at 90 mph with my hair on fire!
April 11, 2025
Post by Jon & Chelsea
On April 11, 2025, Dad completed his journey to the Emerald City (still not sure why that was his preferred term for heaven, but we’re rolling with it!)
Dad’s last act with both Jon and me was to give us giant bear hugs and tell us how much he loved us, and his last call with me was late last night into early this morning. When the hospice nurse called Jon this morning she said, “I’m so sorry to have to let you know that your dad passed away unexpectedly last night.” We knew what she meant; Dad was his happy, jovial self last night, riding his mobility scooter up and down the hospice hall and socializing with the staff until they helped him get settled in to sleep in the early morning hours today. When the nursing staff went to check on him at 6 AM, he was with Jesus. Dad’s passing so peacefully after appearing so well might’ve been unexpected for the hospice staff; for us it was God’s gracious answer to our last prayer for Dad. He went to sleep peacefully, and woke up in the presence of his Savior.
Our family is very grateful for the amazing comfort and care that Dad received from the staff at UPMC Family Hospice during his journey, and for the outpouring of love and support all of you have offered him with your presence, your cards, the stories you’ve shared, and so many acts of kindness. We always knew that Dad was well loved by the communities he had invested a lifetime in; watching how his community showed up for him during this journey was truly a blessing.
We know that many of you who are reading this will ask us over the coming days how you can help us, or to let you know if we need anything, so let us say thank you in advance. Since dad was never known to be shy in social settings, in his memory we’re going to include our first request of all of you right now.
In the coming days Jon & I will be selecting an online provider to host Dad’s obituary, and to serve as a place where we can share details of his Celebration of Life service (or as he would refer to it, his “wake”!) when those plans have been finalized. Most importantly, we’ll select a site that will allow you to share stories and photos of dad. Our request is that you get ready to do just that; pull out those old photo albums, and start thinking about the stories you’d be willing to share with our family. We will share the site url in a final post here when it’s available, and we’ll be so grateful for any contributions to it that each of you take the time to make.
I think it’s fitting to conclude this post with the same blessing that we recited for dad several times over the course of his journey:
The Lord bless you and keep you
Make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you
The Lord turn His face toward you
And give you peace
We love and appreciate all of you,
Chelsea & Jon
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