James F Depaolo

James Franklyn DePaolo passed away peacefully September 10, 2016 at the age of 76. Jim was born August 18, 1940 in Los Angeles, California, although grew up in San Francisco. He was preceded in death by his father Frank DePaolo, mother Dorothy Bremen and sister Jean Meloche. He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Wendy DePaolo ; his two children, Jill DePaolo McDonnell (Timothy) , of Denver, CO and Doug DePaolo (Melinda), of Cumming, GA ; two grandchildren , Delaney and Emily.

Jim graduated from the University of Oregon with a major in psychology, he was a cherished member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity and was a proud cheerleader for his Oregon Ducks. It was on the campus of UO in 1961 that he met his beloved Wendy Woodford, they married in 1963. They moved to Washington DC to join and serve the US Air Force in personnel at Andrews AFB. He then made the decision to join the civilian world and started his professional career as a Sales and Marketing executive at Alcoa in Chicago, Illinois. Jim’s long and distinguished career in sales and marketing for the building products industry carried him to several states and finally to Florida where he eventually started his own business before retirement in Georgia. Jim holds a patent for a hurricane storm shutter design and was a member of the Chicago High Rise Building Association.

Jim was a vibrant personality always with a new joke or story to tell. He enjoyed entertaining and having a good time with friends, often behind the piano banging out a tune. He enjoyed trips with his many friends fishing in Canada down to the Florida Keys. If he wasn’t fishing, you could always find him on the golf course

A private family memorial service to celebrate his life will be held in the Florida Keys at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Miami Project to Cure Paralysis @ The MiamiProject.org