James (Jim) Carver

James (Jim) Carver, 67, of Montrose, passed away peacefully on November 11, 2022, at home surrounded in love by his family.  Jim was born January 19, 1955 in Denver, CO to Ralph and Lucinda (Carhart) Carver. He joined his sister, Delphine and brother Robert and was later joined by his younger brother Steven. They lived in Dove Creek, Co and Naturita, Co before moving to Montrose in 1963, so that his father, Ralph, could open C & C Auto Parts.  Jim and his brothers worked in the store with their father, and developed their love of cars and a great work ethic.  They often said that they started out working all day for a cold bottle of pop as their pay!

Jim attended school in Montrose and graduated in 1973 from Montrose High School. During his school years he was active in sports, many clubs, and student council. Growing up, Jim enjoyed playing all sports with his brothers and others from the neighborhood, as well as in school.  His favorite sport was baseball and he played in school and every summer on various OTA teams.  He loved playing in high school with his good buddy, Jim Kerschner, who was the pitcher and our Jim was the catcher.  He later coached his daughters in softball and enjoyed that as much as when he played. After high school, Jim attended the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho, and graduated in 1977 with a degree in Accounting. After graduation, Jim passed the CPA exam and the family moved back to Montrose to work for Dalby, Wendland and Jensen as an accountant.

In 1974 Jim married his high school sweetheart, Joyce Schneider, and they enjoyed 48 happy years of marriage, and were joined by 4 daughters.  Julie and Jennifer were born during the college years, and Jacque and Jamie joined a few years later.  Jim loved being the father to daughters and taught them that they could do anything they set their minds to.

In 1982, Jim and Joyce purchased Budget Rent a Car of Montrose and they later added locations in Telluride and Gunnison.  The family all worked in the business, and while Jim never paid his daughters with a bottle of pop, they were all willing to start out washing cars.  Jim later added the local taxi and Telluride Transit to the businesses at the airport.  Those crazy busy days when the planes diverted from Telluride because of the snow kept us all on our toes, and making sure that at the end of the day every passenger made their flights seemed to energize Jim.

Jim had a great business mind and enjoyed all aspects of business. He often said that he enjoyed all of his jobs so much that he never worked a day in his life.  When a good friend sparked his interest in being an Elk rancher, the opportunity was the perfect combination of his business experience as an adult and the farming genes from his roots.  Jim’s smile was never bigger than when he was sitting on a tractor – he loved every aspect of caring for the animals and the land.  Later in life Jim helped his father, Ralph, farm his land at the base of Spring Creek Mesa, and it seemed that nothing made him happier than seeing the smile on his father’s face when the hay was finally cut and baled. Jim also became very familiar with the fire department up the hill during weed burning season.

Jim was involved in the Montrose community throughout most of his life.  He was a member of the Athletic Booster Club, Chamber of Commerce, Rotary and the Montrose Elks. Jim was on the original committee that formed the Montrose Area Merchant Association. Jim loved supporting local businesses and contributing to many fund raisers for different groups. He donated many cases of Elk Jerky to Operation Sweet Tooth, an organization sending care packages to soldiers in Afghanistan for many years.

Jim was a huge Colorado Rockies fan and the only World Series game he attended was when the Rockies were playing.  He also enjoyed watching the Denver Nuggets and Denver Broncos, giving much playing advice to all the teams when he watched them on TV.  Jim attended several Rockies and Bronco games with family and friends and each one created wonderful memories for him and especially for his daughters.

Jim’s brother, Steve, introduced him to the joy of fishing off the Canadian coast.  They would go to Langara Island for a week each summer and the only time Jim wasn’t thinking about the next trip was the week they were out on that boat fishing.

Of all of Jim’s loves, his greatest was for his family.  He had a wonderful supportive group of aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings, and his beloved daughters and grandchildren. Jim felt the best part of aging was getting to have the grandchildren in his life.  He loved every moment spent with them and was so proud of each and every one of them. And although he told them that he loved them, he would think that he hadn’t said it enough. When the grandchildren were smaller and asked for ice cream, Jim would always look at their bowl and say, “That’s too much!”.  To this day, we can never eat ice cream without hearing him saying that.

Jim lived with Parkinson’s for 17 years and never let it get him down.  He overcame Leukemia and soared through a stem cell transplant last spring.  Jim also bravely lived with a pain in his neck that he attributed to his wife!  He was a fighter and overcame so much.

Jim was preceded in death by his parents, Ralph and Lucinda Carver, his stepmother, Irene Carver, his brother, Robert and his grandson Kanan.  He is survived by the love of his life, Joyce and their 4 girls and their families. Julie Cassidy and her daughters Jayden and Brady, Jen Carver-Hunter, her wife Morgan and their 2 sons Carver and girlfriend Faith, and her daughter, Remi, and Castle, Jacqueline Marie Carver and her daughter Keele and son Benjamin, and Jamie Melaine Carver, her husband Herb Mills and their sons Kai and girlfriend Makaya, Aaron Mills and girlfriend McKayla and their son, Adrian. He is also survived by his sister, Delphine (Dan) Love and brother, Steve (April) Carver, as well as numerous in-laws, nieces, nephews, and cousins who he thought the world of.

A celebration of Jim’s life will be held Saturday, December 3, at 10:00 at the Montrose County Event Center, 1036 N 7^th St. (off the bypass.).

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you make a donation to Parkinsons or Leukemia research.

Crippin Funeral Home and Crematory is assisting the family; 970-249-2121.