Vaclav Jim Uhlik

Jim Uhlik passed in the evening at his home in Miramonte CA. Born Vaclav Uhlik, Jim was the eldest of Vaclav & Marta Uhlik of Line, Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic). Jim spent his life in the mountain community of Miramonte at the J-J Rolling Hills Ranch he established with the love of his life and surviving wife Jeanie (Baldwin) Uhlik. Together they had four children, Jennifer Tomchak (Thomas), Jackie Flynn (Patrick), Joseph Uhlik (Jennifer), & Jacob Uhlik (Heather). He is survived by wife, children, & grandchildren: Katherine & Amy Tomchak, William & Jack Flynn, Samuel & Audrene Uhlik (Joseph), Isabella & Tyler Uhlik, Madison & Ethan Souza (Jacob), siblings Eva Heathman (Steve), Natasha Slebiss (Dan), & Daniel Uhlik. He is also survived by countless nieces and nephews.

Jim was born in Czechoslovakia to an enterprising and adventurous father who saved his family and close friends from life under the oppressive communist regime. In a daring feat of engineering, Jim’s father fabricated and drove a tank containing his family including Jim, sister Eva, their mother Marta, and four close friends through the Iron Curtain, which was laced with barbed wire and fitted with land mines. They escaped to West Germany and were swiftly found by the nearby stationed US Army. Crashing through the Iron Curtain gave them a fleeting celebrity. They were granted asylum the United States of America and toured the Czech Freedom Tank. The publicity raised funds for anti-communism efforts in the 1950’s. The Ed Sullivan show hosted the Uhliks and the tank when they arrived. Jim recalled tasting a banana and drinking a milkshake for the first time while waiting backstage. Those two treats held a special place with him for the rest of his life. The family lived for a short time in Springfield Massachusetts, and in the Glendale/Pasadena areas of Southern California before they found the peace and privacy Jim’s father craved in the foothills of the Siera Mountains within the logging town of Miramonte in the late 1950’s.

Jim spent the remainder of his youth in Miramonte, and early adult life working for “Ma Bell” & as heavy equipment operator, installing poles and phone lines along the central coast. This is where he found a love of the ocean, and often returned to Pismo Beach for family trips and vacations. In his young adult years, Jim was a ranch hand for his eventual patron Ms. Moody. After a decade of service, ranching, harvesting, being a handyman, and chauffer, he was bequeathed the ranch in the mountains near the home of his mother and father. He was introduced to his wife by his future brother-in-law, in early 1973. Jeanie claims that Jim proposed on their first date – and he never denied it. They were married in October 1973 and held hands for 51 years.

Jim and Jeanie began to raise cattle in the late 1970’s, when their children were young. In the early days, Jim and Jeanie brought home new calves in the back of a Ford Fiesta, slowly building their herd. As the herd grew, each child was taught the value of hard work on the ranch. Everyone helped to brand & tag cattle, mend fences, and cut firewood. Jim took care of fencing and bucking hay; Jeanie took care of the business. Neither one of them flinched when a sick calf needed extra warmth and was moved into the kitchen for a few nights. Jim loved having many animals around, and they flocked to him as if he was “Doctor Doolittle.” Jim’s dogs, ducks, turkeys, chickens, horses, cows, and even a bull (or two), would frequently follow him around, hoping for a head-rub, a pep talk, and treats from him, which he always had. The ranch was a long-term hobby, and not enough to raise a family, so Jim began working as a logger in the early 1980’s, often marking trees, loading trucks, and clearing the landings. Jim’s logging career ended with a logging accident that sparred his life but limited his shoulder movement. Looking for a new opportunity, Jim and Jeanie won a contract to deliver mail for the USPS. They operated two or more routes out of the Orange Cove, CA Post Office for 30+years. Jim ran the routes & Jeanie ran the business. Together they operated the largest geographic mail route in the United States delivering mail customers everyday covering 400 to above 7000ft in altitude, including deliveries to the National Parks and many area summer camps. Jim felt like ‘Santa in the summer’ as he delivered care packages to children attending area summer camps.

Jim and Jeanie hosted many friends and family at the ranch over decades. Jim was a great storyteller with a quick wit, quicker tongue, and a large sense of humor. His piercing blue eyes simmered with enthusiasm as he held court and laughed. “Uncle Jimmy” was willing to drop his tool and stop working to play with nieces & nephews. Opa (Jim) is loved and dearly missed by his children and grandchildren. Tree forts, trampolines, tractor rides, and touring the ranch in the “hooptie” endeared him to them all. We will all remember him calling home cattle for a flake of hay.

In his last few days God called him home to the rolling clouds and waiting hearts in heaven. Jim passed peacefully, as Jeanie was holding his hand. The family would like to thank nephew Timothy Roberts, his wife, Rachelle, and their children, Blake and Ashley, who, while living next door, dutifully tended to Jim’s day-to-day needs while his health declined. Due to their care and assistance to his wife, Jeanie, and the help of hospice nurses, Jim’s last months were free of complications.

Jim is preceded in passing by his beloved mother, Marta (Vilimkova) Uhlik, father, “Wally” Vaclav Uhlik, his in-laws, Judd and Bonnie (Perry) Baldwin, and many extended family members.

A celebration of life will be scheduled in the coming months.