James Richard Urban

James Urban passed away in the early morning of June 26th, 2024, at his home in Flower Mound, Texas, attended by his wife, Aita, and family. He was 89. Born in Ft. Atkinson, WI. on September 4 1934, he was the second of eight children, born to John and Florence Urban, with four sisters and three brothers. His older brother John passed on before him, as well as younger brothers Mike and Joseph, and sister Kathleen. He is survived by his sisters, Patricia, Mary and Bridgid.

James, also known as Big Jim, Grampa Jim, and Jimmy Jimmerino, grew up in Jefferson Junction, near the Ladish Malt Company, where his father worked. He attended Jefferson High School, where he was on the football team as well as a member of the drum and bugle corp. where he played drums. He spent a lot of time helping his dad at their family farm in Johnson's Creek, WI. After graduating from high school, Jim joined the Marine Corp, where he was trained in radio operation and engineering and then sent to fight in the Korean War. When he returned from the war, he worked surveying the new interstate highway system, delivering cars to California by way of route 66, and graduated from DeVry Technical Institute. He would occasionally pick up a couple young rascals named Bud and Pete to hoist a few draft beers and orange Nehi, and a bowling arcade game with him.

Jim had a long career with ABC television, working as an engineer on a wide range of events, including many of the summer and winter Olympics, football championships, the Kentucky Derby, NASCAR races, political events, spacecraft launches, and bowling. After the pressure of setting up and breaking down the equipment for such events, Jim and his fellow workers may have moved all of the Coke machines from the different floors of the hotel they were staying at and into the elevator until it was full. It's possible they also played a part in the car rental agencies of the time, changing their ever-popular instant return policy after more than one of their vehicles ended up in the hotel swimming pool.

When Jim retired, he and his beloved wife Aita, moved to a house they had built in Carrabelle, Fl. There he spent his time taking his boat onto the gulf to go fishing, making friends with the locals, cutting down trees and fixing his pals TV's. He had a lifelong love of flying, and kept his plane at the local airfield.

In March of 2021, Jim and Aita moved to Flower Mound to be near their family.

Jim is survived by his wife Aita, daughters Paula, Denise, and Patricia, three sons, Leland, Tony, and John, ten grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren.

He almost made it to his 90th birthday, but did get to celebrate one last Father’s Day, and a family reunion, too! We miss you already, Jim.