version 1.6.1 22Jun2006
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Jimmy's family is planning a "Celebration of Life" for him on August 7th -
in the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho.
As many of us here in Southern California will probably not be able to attend, we are planning to have a gathering in his honor at All American Racers for his friends and colleagues. It will be Thursday, August 5th 2004 at 4:30pm at AAR. 2334 S. Broadway, Santa Ana, CA 92707 We hope you can join us. Sincerely, Dan Gurney |
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Jim and I went to school together in 1970,71, and 72, at Douglas High School,
in Winston, Oregon. He lived in Lookingglass and I lived in Tenmile at the time.
He and I were hunting buddies as well as car afficiandoes. We both had tri5's
in that era. His a 55 Belair, and mine a 57 210. We also worked on his 55 Chevy race car, and I
pitted for him when he raced in the P.R.A. (Pacific Racing Association) circut. We
had lost contact after I went into the service in the fall of 1972, and had only re-established
contact a couple years ago. We had an elk hunt planned here in Arizona this fall, and were
talking about a buffalo hunt for 2005. I was devastated to learn of his death. We were still in
the process of catching each other up on thirty years of life.
I had just talked to Clara, his mother, the day before. I was in Oregon on
vacation at the time. I did not learn of the accident till I returned home on the night of July
10. I knew that he was well liked and respected, but I did not realize the extent of his
influence.
Thank you for bringing back forgotten images of Jim's life for me. If you find
any other tidbits, please let me know.
A close friend of Jim's, Steve Wooster 
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I hadn't stopped by the shop in some time. Maybe 5 years or so. I just
happened to be in the neighborhood that week.
Of course my first stop was to see Jerry...as he was the best boss I've ever had in my life. My next stop, also of course, was to see Rem and the rest of the guys in the Fab shop. Us shop guys have a special bond that I can't explain. Especially after all the great years of winning. I was greeted by a happy (as usual) Jimmy Thrall who was totally stoked to see me. We chatted for awhile about old times etc...and he showed me the work he was doing on the new Alligator motorcycle. We also talked about guns, food, and other stuff we loved to talk about every time we saw each other. Didn't matter how much time had passed from our last meeting either. We always talked about the same stuff. Now...for the interesting part. I just moved to Arizona and just happened to be in town. That's when I stopped by the shop. As stated above. In retrospect, obviously the timing for me is overwhelming. As I was pulling away and half way down Broadway...there was Jimmy walking between shops. I pulled up...rolled down the window and he leaned in with his usually dirty hands and we continued to share our last conversation I would ever have with him. :-( I said that I would be in town another week or so and would love to hook up with him for our usual meal. Shrimp on the BBQ, with a couple of beers and some good lies. He told me he was down at the Dunes in Newport Beach and I was pleased that we would have a great place to hang together. I asked him for some way to get a hold of him and he handed me his card. All it has on it is his signature happy face. If you didn't know him, you wouldn't know whose card it was. He said he was going to Reno to deal with his new piece of equipment. That card is now mounted next to the welding picture that was in the e-mail you all got last week. Funny where I unintentionally hung it too. He's looking right at me...smiling...and his card hit's the light in such a way that it illuminates and reflects. Almost as if he's telling me to always smile no matter what. I'm not sure who was saying goodbye to whom... But I do know this...I'm so happy that I had the chance. Jimmy Thralls friend.... Always Ross Tucker Past Employee at All American Racers. 
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I will always remember Jimmy.. (with a smile). My memory of him is his
always giving me letters to his Mom to run through the postage meter.
They were always addressed simply to 'Mom' followed by the address as
if there were only one Mom in the whole world.
Veronica McNamara 
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You were the first to get the news to me about Jimmy. I was shattered, but held
back until I got verification. I looked for news on the internet, found nothing, and called AAR.
Kathy, Dan's assistant, said yes it was true. Damn.
What a waste of a fine human being. But you know what? He died in action. Most of us are going to depart ignominiously, like by having a stroke in the Vacant Attic Rest Home. Or getting nuked by our CAD monitors. Of course, a day later, I'm still seriously unhappy. Maybe in a week I'll feel better. Jimmy would tell me to quit whining and build something. I'm thinking about writing up a testimonial web page. Have you received the .doc or .pdf obituary written by Jimmy's sister Sherrie? If not, I can send a copy. Jimmy was one of my best friends. I had just mailed his old-school Triplett multimeter back to AAR after fixing it for him. My little 4-year-old monster and I were all packed up ready to visit him in Reno this last Christmas, but the weather turned really bad, so we agreed to visit later. I had talked to Jimmy about 2 weeks ago on the phone, and he told me all about the big press brake he got from AAR after Dan bought a new one, and his plans for transporting it to Reno. It weighs roughly 2 tons. To think, I could very well have been there during the unloading ... What's sort of ominous is, one day when I was working at AAR, I asked someone in the fab shop if anybody had ever been hurt badly at AAR. He said that years before, someone had crunched two fingers in that same press brake. At the hospital, the guy said he hadn't been feeling well, and they discovered he had two brain tumors. He died a couple weeks later, having never left the hospital. Maybe we should send the press to Tony George. Sadly, Roy Gardner 
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Jimmy was there for me Big time when I was going thru an awful time with someone
very special in my life in the hospital trying for heart transplant. Jimmy would ask almost every
day - how I was doing and how my friend was doing. He would stand with me at my car to check on me
and was never in a rush to leave, always there for support and to listen to the progressive nightmare
I was going thru. He often said I could call him anytime night or day even if it was just to listen.
I knew he meant it.
He truly did give of himself to help others any way he could. I will never forget him for the support he gave me when I needed it so desperately. What a guy !!! What a void we now have!!! Jeanne Caliva (formerly AAR accounting dept.) |
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I just happened to talk with Kathy Weida via email today, and learned of
Jimmy's death. I'm stunned. Jimmy is such an icon in my mind, he can't be
gone.
Here's what I will always think about when I reflect on Jimmy. He was the most down-to-earth, no BS person I've ever met in my life. Famous for speaking his mind, I recall a couple of choice "Thrall-isms." One was, "What are you STUPID???" always said with a smile, and good humor. His standard greeting was, "Whasshappening?" I also recall my wife (girlfriend at the time) couldn't walk through the race shop, or through the pits at a race without Jimmy demanding the right to bite her neck. I recall both crew chiefs (Howard, and Gary) smoking, incessantly. And, heaven forbid they think about walking into the fabrication truck with a lit cigarette. Jimmy was always close by with a loaded squirt gun, ready, willing, and able to "put out the fire." I remember Jimmy carrying a steak (in a seafood restaurant) back to the kitchen on the end of a fork to tell the cook to "finish it." I remember when things were slow for Jimmy at the track, he'd practice welding Coke cans together, because it was really hard to do. Teammate Jim Wolfe would say, Jimmy, like Phil Remington, could weld the crack of dawn. Little doubt in the weeks, months, and years that follow, I will recall much, much more. Godspeed, Jimmy. Bradley L. Newman 
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What a shame.....I always remember Jimmy with a noose around his neck. He
was told he had to wear a tie to one of our awards banquets so he showed
up with a big rope around his neck tied up like a noose.....it was pretty
funny!
Jule Alfonso Toyota Motorsports |
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At Jimmy's passing, a lot of us old AAR hands talked on the phone, remembering Jimmy, which
means remembering the wonderful times at AAR. We have had none better since.
Jim Hamilton |
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Our man Jimmy:
The big red toolbox with the smiley face is gone from the spot it has occupied for almost two decades. Gone is our morning ritual..."whassssup?" "You did something to your hair? We likes the cinnamon." (Right hand patting his heart - making me blush.) We knew where to find the boss-Dan every afternoon, in the fab shop with you, heads together, designing, consorting, creating things for the new AARLEY-Gator. Dan was so proud of you. He always referred to you as "our man Jimmy." Rem too, felt reassured that you could take over. AAR was in good hands. Ah shucks Jimmy, I thought you would be here forever. You were a fixture at AAR. You - like Rem - could do or fix anything. I will miss our trips to Evan’s Gunsmithing with you and Dennis, blowing holes in targets, trying your special ammo, shooting 38’s out of the 357 magnum. You made me feel confident and safe. I loved hearing Jimmy and Dennis adventure stories. What a great guy, our man Jimmy. I am so happy to know there was a Bonnie. To you Bonnie, I’m so sorry for your loss. And to the best Mom in Tenmile, my heart breaks for you and Sherri and Rose Mary and Roger and Gene. Thank you for sharing your Mountain man with us. It was my pleasure to know you Jimmy. You may be gone but you will never be forgotten. Thank you Roy for this terrific website. Kathy Weida All American Racers 
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My memories bring me back Jimmy always with the big montain coat and his
hat. A free spirit man that was always there for his friends.
Everytime I think or talk about Jimmy I remember the history that had been told to me in a race weekend. The guys came to me and told me they where going to the hotel I think from the airport, and a car in front of them hit a deer. When Jimmy saw the deer, asked inmediately to stop the car, he touch the deer to know how long was dead, and as soon he found out the deer was still warm, he took his kniff from his belt and did his job. The next thing it was a fire with the great meat and his good friends. All my life I had my friends far away as you all are know, but because that, I had learned how to take with me everybody I care, that why Jimmy will be with me always, with his mountain hat, and his open smile. Dear Katthy, I don´t know where this writing will go. It doesn´t matter´. I just wanted to write down this short history, and my feelings of a good friend. Love, Juan Fangio |
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It's been a year now. It's taken most of that for me to come to grips with it.
On July 2, I was looking for some old paperwork. I came across the torn-off corner of a dollar bill. It was a Jimmy Thrall nickel. I don't remember why Jimmy thought he owed me 5 cents, but he wanted me to have it. He didn't have any change, so he did what he always did. He made it. This was just another Thrall-ism that Jimmy was full of. They weren't gimmicks or jokes. They were the heart of a talented, imaginative man that knew how to live and enjoy life. He tried to teach me a little bit about making things. I admired his skill at fabricating, but even more, I envied his ability to stay happy and always have fun. I miss him. Dan - Thank you for having the memorial service last year. Jimmy would have liked it. Please forgive me for not speaking then. I couldn't have gotten the words out as well as you did. I could barely say "It was Jimmy" whenever someone asked why I was there. I don't think I could do much better than that even today. Thanks, Tom Power Physical Architecture/Design 
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I sit here crying as I type this... But also, I smile from ear to ear.
I recently learned of the passing of Jimmy Thrall and could not believe that such a perfect human being could be taken from us so soon. Having the pleasure of working with Jimmy at AAR in 1990/1991, I can tell you that my life is different because of this wonderful person. Jimmy is what we all should aspire to become as people in this life. Very few people we meet are as passionate about life as Jimmy is. Very few people make the kind of effort to connect with others the way Jimmy does. Not only is he one of the best fabricators known, but he is one of the nicest, most caring, friendliest people anyone could hope to meet. One of my fondest memories of Jimmy was after my son was born. My wife and I dropped by AAR, after I had quit, on a Saturday. Of course the shop was almost empty except for Jimmy. Not only was he thrilled for us, but also for our son we brought with us. Jimmy asked if he could hold him. My son, at only 3 months, SCREAMED!!!, being held by a stranger. But Jimmy assured him that everything was OK. Of course my son would not stop crying, but Jimmy smiled and said, "Good pipes!" as he handed my son back to my wife........... My brother (who is a die-hard Nissan fan) became instantly enrapt with Jimmy after meeting him. My brother was a corner worker at the Del Mar Grand Prix, and every year would seek out Jimmy just to say Hi! and shake hands with the man we love. My wife remembers Jimmy as, "The guy with the alligator glued to his tool box" and, "The guy with the Hawaiian print shirts". My brother remembers him as he is at the races....Happiest in his element. I remember him as..........A teacher. A friend. A fabricator. A racer. A person you could rely on. A person with highest regard for life. Jimmy Thrall has the kind of "Can do attitude" that is so lacking today. If there were more people in this world like Jimmy, I'm sure we would be that much closer to heaven...... My favorite Thrall-ism: " We're just a bunch of big kids, getting paid to play with a very expensive toy!". Who ever the powers that be that took Jimmy from us must have needed the best... I'm sure there is a race track in heaven and I'm sure Jimmy's tool box is in the paddock............ (You'll notice everything I have written is in the present tense......... Jimmy is not gone. He has simply moved to another shop. Jimmy will live always in our hearts and our memories) Jimmy, I will miss you until we meet again..... God speed Chris Peterson, Machinist, AAR 1990/1991 
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