James Brian Sliff

Jim Sliff was born on 5/28/1952 and died on Jan 11, 2024, at 71 years young. He is preceded in death by his parents Harry T. Sliff and Junedale Epperson Sliff, his brother Gregson Sliff, and his son, David Sliff. Jim is survived by his son Mike Sliff, his daughter Morgan Sliff, his previous wife Kathy Welch, sister-in-law Teow Sliff and his three beloved birds, Kona, Smokey, and Toby.

Jim grew up in Manhattan Beach attending grade school and then high school at Aviation. After high school, Jim started a career in the painting industry that spanned over 30 years working in sales where he made and kept lifelong friendships with the people he worked with.

He and Kathy were married in Sept 1976 and were blessed with 3 children, Mike, Morgan and David and went on to spend many years helping coach his kid’s baseball and softball teams. He also spent many years enjoying riding his bike along the strand while Kathy ran with either Morgan and David in the jogger. Jim was instrumental in helping Mike and David get started with learning guitar. He got them started and they developed their own unique style of playing and appreciation for music.

Jim was a man of many talents and could be the life of the party. He was a talented speaker and became a friend to those he met. This talent served him well with the many bluegrass bands he played with over the years. The first band was Beaver Creek which played for some time at the Hermosa Saloon in the late 70’s.

Jim supported suicide prevention organizations after the devastating loss of his son David to suicide several years ago, a loss which he could never fully recover from. He took part in suicide prevention fundraising walks and helped raised funds for research into the prevention of this very real health care crisis that suicide has become. He is named on David’s foundation, thedavidsliffmemorialfoundation.com

Jim’s greatest passion and pursuit in life was playing music and collecting instruments, specifically guitars. After retirement, he was able to fully devote his time to developing his expertise in repairing any type of string instrument. He became well known for his knowledge of intricate and complicated instrument repairs and his willingness to help others along in their musical journey.

Jim will be greatly missed for the friendships he cultivated over the years, his expert knowledge of all things musical, and his outgoing nature.

Memorial Service:

Friday, February 16, 2024

12:00 PM to 2:00 PM

Lighthouse Memorials & Receptions

5310 Torrance Blvd, Torrance, CA 90503

Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82154009821?pwd=ZjA1UDB1MEhBZE5IbW4va09vRWt1dz09

Reception:

3:00 PM to 6:00 PM

Lighthouse Cafe Music Venue

30 Pier Ave, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254