Always and simply ‘Jim’

Deepa Bharath

No one who knew Jim Frost ever called him Mr. Frost.

He was always Jim. And when people called him Mr. Frost, he

corrected them by telling them that he was “just Jim.”

Jim passed away on Memorial Day, a week before his 93rd birthday.

It made sense because he was patriotic and served in the U.S. Navy

during World War II and the Korean War.

Jim loved being in the Navy. He liked the crisp, white uniforms,

the hard work and the discipline. To his family and friends, it

seemed like he had found in the Navy the structure he sought in his

personal life. During the wars, he worked as a shipfitter, making

repairs.

Jim came to Newport Beach when he was a little boy. He worked in

the post office when he was 12, picking up and dropping off mail from

and to the red street cars. He was a big guy, 6 feet 4. He was

strong, too.

When he was young, Jim worked on a farm and could easily lift a

big box of oranges from the top shelf. He and his friends rode their

bikes to Dana Harbor from Newport Beach. There was no Coast Highway

then, so they would ride their bicycles to Santa Ana and then down to

the beach.

He always liked to work with his hands. For 37 years he worked for

the city of Newport Beach as its utilities superintendent, attending

to the utility lines and sewers. Jim retired from that job when he

was 67 and left City Hall with a key to the city in his hand.

Jim was also a volunteer fireman, who had a knack for finding

water lines. He liked everything about Newport Beach -- the weather,

the beach and the fish. He was a longtime resident of Newport

Heights.

Jim had two main hobbies -- bowling and off-road riding. He bowled

as often as he could with his sons at Kona Lanes. Jim rode

motorcycles and dune buggies almost until he was 90. He participated

almost every year in an off-road race to Mexico. He loved that

country’s music and its people.

Jim was a die-hard romantic. He was married twice. He had been

married to his wife, Eve, for the last 16 years. Eve’s memories of

her husband are, well, sweet.

He called her “Sugar” and she called him “Frosty.” The couple went

on many cruises to the Caribbean and Hawaii.

Jim remained active even after he retired from the city. He went

to work for a florist friend and delivered flowers for 16 years.

Jim even donated his brain to UC Irvine for the university’s study

of people who are over 90 years of age. And when he heard about and

saw Operation Desert Storm on television he wished he could’ve been a

part of it.

Jim was just not the kind of person who liked people fussing over

him. That’s why he didn’t want a memorial service -- because he

didn’t want people crying over him or making a big deal about it.

Because, even when he’s not here, he liked to be “just Jim.” And

when people thought about him, he wished they’d smile and not cry.