Jim whymer

He met his wife, Patty, and they were married in July of While pregnant with their first child, Jim and Patty left everyone they knew in Grand Rapids and moved to Port Huron in the fall of for the sportswriting job at The Times Herald. Jim wore his brand new sport coat for the interview and by the time he noticed the tag still on the arm, he had already made his mark on Port Huron.

They moved thinking it was just a stepping stone to greater things and of course, never left. He could talk to anyone about anything, as long as it was mainly sports. Blue Water area athletes have brought his face and words all over the world, in scrapbooks and memory boxes. He eventually came upon his second perfect job where he worked part time at St. I once put a non-local story on the sports cover.

That mortified him, too. But mostly, he was jolly. That's probably the best word to describe him. He loved little laughs, and had a distinctive high-pitch chuckle. He thought it was the funniest thing when he once used a horse's mugshot in the paper. I think it was around Kentucky Derby time. Once, during the great blackout of — one night after we put out the paper with candles, stuffed in Styrofoam cups filled with popcorn kernels, our only light — we sat on Tom's deck and drank well into the night.

He told one story after another. We should've paid admission. I'd share some of them, but again, drinking. Us younger reporters drank a lot those days. At Military Street. Or the HAC. One time, I remember telling Jim I was going to try out Skidgies, the dive bar on 12th.

Don't swear, he said. They'll kick you out. Jim liked to kid. Turns out, he wasn't kidding. Jim grew up in Grand Rapids and attended West Catholic High School, then Aquinas, before joining the Port Huron sports department in — so many of us came and went, but he never did, because he was the foundation, we were his roots. But Whymer did far more than write. Whymer also was a longtime sports official, softball, baseball, basketball, you name it.

Oftentimes, he'd be coming to the office from a game, or leaving the office for a game — always to return later that night. He should be in the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame. I'll make it my passion to make that happen. That was a good night for Whymer, that induction ceremony in , alongside so many other inductees he'd covered over the years. It was around that time he was diagnosed with cancer, and the community immediately got to work, with their prayers and benefits. They raised good money.

The stands were practically packed. And it was the first time I ever saw Whymer emotional. Whymer fought the dreaded disease, and made some progress along the way, as he continued to work at St. Clair County Community College, and as a freelance writer — and in the most important role of his life, a husband to Patty, and a father to Traci, Kyle and Joel, the latter who was unfairly denied press clippings as a basketball star at Port Huron Northern, then Lake Superior State, then Grand Valley, because his dad didn't want to be seen as biased in our coverage.

Whymer's face lit up a lot, but never more than when he talked about Patty, Traci, Kyle and Joel. In April, Whymer sent me a text message, wishing me a "belated" happy birthday. It wasn't belated. Facebook Twitter Email. Tony Paul The Detroit News. Whymer officiated at baseball, basketball and softball games, and remained involved in area athletics when he joined the team at St. Whymer lived in Port Huron with his wife, Patty.

They have three children: Traci, Kyle and Joel. Seemingly always the first and last in the newsroom during his career, Whymer constantly inspired others to be better. When asked to summarize his career in one word during his last evening in the newsroom in April , Whymer said, "One word Costanzo, now the SC4 assistant director of admissions, said his relationship with Whymer was more than just coworkers.

It was all real, it was coming from a place he meant it," Costanzo said. He loved this place. I just hope he knows exactly how much we cared for him, too. He recalled going to an out-of-town high school basketball game with Whymer following his retirement. Costanzo said they barely made it to their seats before the start of the game because everyone wanted to catch up with Whymer.