James “Jim” Allen Dew, Jr., 69, passed away September 7, 2024, after a two-year battle with a glioblastoma. He was the son of James Allen Dew, Sr. and the late Janice Schreiber Dew. He is survived by his wife Jill, son Brian (Robyn), grandson Lochlan, brother David (Gina) Dew, sister Debbie Behler (Jerry), uncle James Schreiber, and one niece and several nephews, and their children, and assorted in-laws.
He and Jill were together for 44 years. They met March 23, 1980, and were wedded May 22, 1982. Officially, they were married for 42 years, but he said, “We got married the day we met.” He worked for too many years at Fifth-Third Bank, starting on the sorters at the age of 19, and ended up being an Assistant Vice President upon retirement. He loved working with computers and was in his element when he was fixing a problem, helping some poor soul who couldn’t find some files they had accidently deleted.
He also did a stint for 8 years at Quantum Chemical and would have stayed there, but the company was bought out and everything was moved to Texas. They offered him a job, but, after getting up off the floor laughing, he politely declined, saying he would, “never leave Kentucky.”
Jim was an avid outdoorsman. He loved camping with his friends, hiking through the Gorge or tromping through the woods in any of the state parks. Kayaking, canoeing, hiking (he wasn’t into hunting – he’d rather hunt with a camera than a gun), and more were all a part of his passions. Protecting the natural environment was very important to Jim. He donated to several causes and worked to monitor the quality of water in the Licking River, a river he loved to kayak and canoe all his life.
After he retired, he made removing and killing all the invasive honey-suckle on his 15-acre land his mission in life. It was a never-ending challenge (much like cleaning the house), but he tackled it with vigor and with some success, regardless of how fleeting it was.
He was one of the brighter people you’d ever meet. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of rock and roll. Name a song, and he could tell who the band was, where and when the first recording was made, all the names of the members of the band, who had replaced the drummer and when … and the list went on and on. He learned to broaden his horizons and eventually came around to embracing classical music and even opera.
Jim was loved by all and left many friends and family saddened by his parting.
There will be no funeral service. Instead, a final Grand Soiree will be held at his home at a future date. Memorial donations are requested to be made to The Nature Conversancy.
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