James Carney

A feisty professional Irishman has died. The people who accidentally parked in front of our house are probably breathing a sigh of relief, but in reality, the world has lost a little bit of its color. James Lawrence Carney passed away on July 19, after a two year, nine­ month bout with appendix cancer. The family would like to thank M.D. Anderson in Houston and Dr. Richard Helmer of Texas Oncology in Austin who assisted Jim in this battle. Jim is survived by his wife of 14 years, Marion Coffee-Camey. He is also survived by his son, Daniel Carney and wife Emily Evans, daughter Ann Mary Carney and husband Robert Whyburn, stepdaughter Christine Baker and husband Reese Baker and stepson Russell Coffee. Jim is survived by his grandchildren, Emily and Brendan Whyburn , Bryce and Kylie Baker, and Riley Coffee and Riley's mother, Bobbie Graves Additional survivors are brothers Mike Carney and sister-in-law Kathleen , Pat Carney and sister-in-law Jules Inda, brother-in-law Graham Rankin and wife Beth, nieces Amy Dixon, Laura Jansen, and Kaitlin Carney, and nephews Kieran Carney, Kieran Belter, Gabe Belter, and Jesse Belter.

Jim was born in Willeston, North Dakota on December 20, 1932, the first child of Lawrence and Doris Wilson Carney. They preceded him in death, as did his sister Margaret Schacker. Jim was a proud graduate of Devil's Lake High School in Devil's Lake, North Dakota. There he excelled in football, was "captain of the bench" in basketball, competed in the hurdles and shot in track and president of the senior class of 1950. He so enjoyed attending the class reunions. He played football for the University of North Dakota, until an injury ended his career. He graduated from North Dakota University and came to Texas for training as an army aviator and helicopter pilot. He married a San Marcos girl, Jean Rogers, and got shipped to Korea. Fortunately the shooting was over. He safely returned to the states and worked for Jean's father at Aquarena Springs. He was later associated with Xerox, Champion Paper, and the National Federation of lndependent Business. He and Marion married in 1999 and started traveling the state, nation and world to competitions in master's track and field and the Senior Games. What fun they had!

A funeral mass will be held at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, July 25, at St. Austin's Catholic Church, 2026 Guadalupe. Location and parking information are available at www.staustin.org/location

The family would especially like to thank Nicole and Jack of Hospice Austin for their exceptional sensitivity.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Hospice of Austin, 4107 Spicewood Springs Road, Austin, TX 78759, Smile Train or a charity of your choice.