James Blizzard

James Campbell Blizzard, of Los Osos, CA was born April 1, 1933, in Westwood, MA and died peacefully April 10, 2022, in his home, surrounded by his devoted wife, Diana Blizzard, and his adoring family.

James was also known as “Uncle Jimmy” by his beloved nieces and nephews, and simply as “Jimmy,” by Diana. Jim & Diana would have celebrated 67 years of marriage in August. Affectionately called “Little Blizz” by his three brothers, he was the youngest of 4 sons of Thomas and Elizabeth Blizzard.

He was nicknamed “Blizz” by his co-workers at United Parcel Service, where he had a long, successful career as a UPS driver and later as a manager, running several UPS centers in Southern California, and as a personnel manager in Kansas City.

James was a proud veteran of the United States Navy, serving his country for over 6 years as a sonar operator, helping to locate and detect enemy submarines. He was known as a “lucky charm” by the helicopter pilots he flew with, surviving numerous helicopter crashes.

He possessed a deep love of sports his entire life, particularly basketball, touching the lives of many people, on and off the court. He was a superb basketball player at Westwood High School in Westwood, MA, a multi-sport athlete, & voted “Most Athletic” of his senior class.

Years later, he coached basketball giving back to the communities where he lived. He volunteered for many years coaching boys’ and girls’ basketball teams in Shawnee, KS, and his grandchildren’s teams in Los Osos, CA. He always encouraged his players to have fun and enjoy the game. If he had been an artist, the court would have been his canvas.

James also had a deep appreciation of the arts, enjoyed poetry, fine wines, movies, classical music, and played the guitar and piano. He was a master at playing games, tackling the most complicated crossword puzzles, and a fiercely competitive Scrabble player.

His family will miss his warm smile, his genuine kindness towards others, his loving spirit, his beautiful, blue sparkling eyes, his unquenchable thirst for knowledge, his wit and sense of humor and the fact that he was a true gentleman.

He is survived by his wife, Diana, of Los Osos, CA, and 5 children: daughters Karen Kopp (Kevin) of Paso Robles, CA, Kathleen White (Peter †) of Fort Collins, CO, Kimberly Schisler (Jim) of Greeley, CO, Karol Blizzard (Eric Wooten), of Atascadero, CA, son Jeffrey Blizzard (Laurie) of Modesto, CA, and his brother, Alan Blizzard (Chris) of Seal Beach, CA. His eldest son, Gregory Blizzard, preceded him in death in 1979. He is survived by 11 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews.

A Celebration of Life will be held at Los Osos Valley Mortuary June 11, 2022, at 1:00 p.m., with a reception immediately following at Daisy Hill Park Community Clubhouse, 1595 Los Osos Valley Rd., Los Osos, CA, 93402 from 2:30-4:30 p.m.