Topic starter
28/08/2007 6:28 pm
I have learned, belatedly, that Mr. James A. Haley passed away June 16th at the Masonic Home here in Louisville. Jim and Jeanne (who survives him) met on the DELTA QUEEN many years ago and were longtime residents of Lakeside Park and Florence, Kentucky. Jim was a prolific artist and his watercolor / pen & ink renderings of steamboat scenes were exhibited at a Florence art gallery several times. I have a dandy watercolor of the Str. MISSISSIPPI hanging in my office that is Jim's work. Jim was a loyal and longtime member of the Sons and Daughters of Pioneer Rivermen and of its Middle Ohio River Chapter.
No obituary was published in the newspaper and Jim donated his body to the University of Louisville School of Medicine. Some of his river memorabilia has been transferred to the Howard Steamboat Museum.
A gentle soul who was always ready to talk steamboats, Jim will be missed.
28/08/2007 6:43 pm
Model Builder
Jim was also enjoyed building model boats (especially steamboats) and was a member of the Cincinnati Maritime Modelers Club when it met at the Monkey Wrench Corner Cafe in Covington, Ky. He was a real steamboat buff and loved everything about the DELTA QUEEN.
My deepest sympathy goes to Jim's wife, family, and friends.
Topic starter
28/08/2007 7:04 pm
Thanks Sam. Didn't know about the boat models. When the museum was contacted (first we knew of Jim's passing) no models were included so have no idea where those might have gone.
29/08/2007 12:11 am
Perhaps Jim was like me- joined mostly to be around folks talking about boats. But I do recall him building a model, or two. There were (are?) some talented model builders in the club. My attempts at model building were few and feeble, but the camaraderie was worth the dues…. and more.
Our own John Fryant became a club member long after I departed.
Topic starter
29/08/2007 11:10 am
Additional information: I did some digging in my files and back issues of the S&D REFLECTOR last night and gleaned the following.
Jim Haley was 88 years old. He and Jeanne Burke met on the DELTA QUEEN in 1961 during a St. Paul trip. They were married in November of 1962. Jim was a bookkeeper by trade but always yearned to be a riverman. He often rode the GORDON C. GREENE and said in a 1985 Cincinnati Enquirer article that, "On that boat you weren't a passenger but a house guest. There's never been anything like her before and never since."
Jim and Jeanne were great cat fanciers and had several named after boats, including a big tom cat named for the towboat JASON and a female feline named KATE ADAMS.
Attached is a photo of a DELTA QUEEN watercolor, portraying the boat on Kentucky Lake, done by Jim some years ago.
A long whistle salute to Jim and Jeanne.
Topic starter
31/08/2007 5:14 pm
P.S. The public relations officer at the Masonic Home in Louisville contacted me yesterday and conveyed that they are considering having an exhibition of Jim's steamboat art later this year, with a date to be announced, and they would like the Howard Steamboat Museum to take part. Stay tuned!
In the meantime, I found the attached photo of three river family members who loved to get together and talk of the glory days of the Greene Line. Here we have Virginia Bennett, Helen Prater and Jim Haley in the background. Seems I took this in 1995 at the Behringer-Crawford Museum in Covington, of which Ginny was curator of their River Heritage Room at the time.