Jimmy Dale Lumpkin was born in Mathis, Texas, on April 27, 1934. The only son of Wallace and Annie Lumpkins, he enjoyed a wonderful childhood that included all the activities that a country boy could want. He began a life long love of adventure, airplanes and motorcycles.
Jimmy, “Dad, Grandpa, G-Gpa”, is survived by his wife of nearly 63 years, Betty. The two met in college where he charmed her with poetry, love letters and creative writings. He was preceded in death by his parents, Wallace and Annie Lumpkins and beloved sister, Earlene Raymond. He is also survived by his two daughters, Pat Tousley and husband, Robert, and Kimberly King and husband, Ken, grandchildren Angela and Derrick Tousley, and Kurtis, Clinton and Katelyn King (Aceves), their spouses, and great grandchildren Sage, Zarak and Logan. He is also survived by countless cousins, nieces, nephews and in-laws.
As a youngster, Jimmy grew up in Three Rivers, Texas, on the family farm. His family raised cotton for years, later branching out to cattle ranching. Jimmy, as we learned later in life from one of his high school friends, was quite the prankster, often perfecting his sling shot aim on train windows and telephone pole glass insulators. His friend George once said, “Whenever some bit of mischief happened in town, the local sheriff would either come to Jimmy’s house or mine”. As he grew up, he enjoyed school and after high school graduation, he enrolled at Abilene Christian College (now University) where he met Betty. After earning a bachelor’s degree at ACC, he attended the Christian Theological Seminary at Butler, in Indianapolis where he earned a Master’s of Divinity. After moving to California, he attended Claremont Graduate School. He was a PhD candidate, combining coursework from USC and CGS and working in Israel on an archeological dig. He continued to earn two more Master’s Degrees. When he visited Harvard a few years ago, he quipped, “Now I can say ‘I went to Harvard’”. Jimmy stated once in an article, that Betty worked to support his addiction to school. He continued enhancing his academic efforts until the adoption of their daughters. He began his teaching career at Baldwin Park Unified School District shortly after that, eventually retiring in 1997 after 40 years of teaching. After a brief retirement, he once again accepted a teaching position, this time at Sonrise Christian School where he taught literature and writing for another 2 years. He and Betty retired together in 2000.
Jimmy also spent many years as a preacher and writer. Over the course of his lifetime, he had a myriad of published works including magazine articles, juvenile reading books, religious books and he was also a regular contributor to the Sunday religious column of the Daily Bulletin. As an educator, he actively engaged his students in learning to love the written word. As a credit to his impact on the youth of four decades of teaching, he remained close to many students through letter writing and social media. He enjoyed watching them grow. A true hallmark of his precious relationship with his students came when he had the joy of performing a wedding ceremony for one of his former students. Baldwin Park Unified School district was blessed by Jimmy’s deep devotion to his pupils.
A lover of travel, learning, writing and adventure, Jimmy had so many wonderful experiences. He and Betty enjoyed many years of world travel, including visits to Alaska, Hawaii, Greece, New Zealand, Australia, South America “Seattle to Rio” around the Cape cruise, Italy, Jamaica, Costa Rica, Jordan, Turkey and Canada. At the age of 50, Jimmy and Betty hopped aboard their Gold Wing motorcycle and rode and camped across the United States all the way to Niagara Falls. His sense of adventure also took him on several “short cuts” that lead to some great story telling. Most notably, in his mid 50’s he set out to hike Mt. Baldy. A fast moving storm approached causing him to take one of his notorious “short cuts”. This event lead to a newsworthy story in the local paper regarding the Search and Rescue response for a “stranded hiker”. Yes. The Search and Rescue team lead him to safety after efforts to get a helicopter extraction were cancelled due to wind and weather. With such a drive for adventure, one year Jimmy built a canoe and painted it bright red. That thing must have weighed a ton. Built from plywood and covered with fiberglass, he yearned to navigate the muddy waters of Puddingstone Lake, only to be denied the opportunity because it took too many men to try and lift the canoe onto the car. So, to the teenage boys next door, the canoe went. Later in life, still enticed by water sport, Jimmy drove to the Colorado River where he tried to navigate a washed out road only to make the yellow Toyota pickup into what would from that point foreword, be referred to as “The Yellow Submarine”. After retiring, Jimmy returned to a more convenient form of water travel, enjoying cruises and jet boats. He and Betty jet boated on the Snake River, the Rogue River, and the Copper River. At nearly 81, he shocked us all by asking if he could ride on the jet ski at Bass Lake. What a thrill that was! Motorcycle riding still held an allure for Jimmy. Several times he grabbed the handlebars and gunned the BMW to places like Oregon, Wyoming, Texas and the Southwest. He was never deterred by weather or conditions. He just took it all in as part of the adventure.
Other great interests of Jimmy included an intense love of flying. The family routinely hit the wide-open skies for vacations to see family far and wide. His great influence with his nephews sparked flames of interest that would eventually lead to careers in the airline industry. He and Betty spent many years flying to Baja California to deliver doctors to needy areas. The Flying Samaritans, as they were called, relied upon the generous donation of time and talent from Jimmy and Betty to bring medicine to children in impoverished areas. Flying also offered the opportunity for the family to experience “fly-in” vacations. We’d all pack our gear into the Cessena and explore places like Sedona, Lake Powell, Soggy Dry Lake and Catalina Island. Often he would turn these “fly-in” vacations into published magazine articles. Jimmy was always eager to take a passenger along for the ride. He enjoyed using his fold-up bicycle to further his adventures. Camping in general was a great joy of his. Many a summer’s night was spent under the stars of the Sierra Nevada’s, Anza Borrego, National Parks, Joshua Tree and ghost towns. His thirst for “experiences” ran deep. Alongside this adventurous spirit, was the love of photography. Jimmy organized many photo albums that detailed his many experiences. A lover of landscapes and nature, his photos document a lifetime of sunsets, sunrises and his true joy: his family. An avid reader, he pursued literature and learning all of his life. He played a mean game of chess, loved his Celestron telescope, and kept a tradition of waffle making for the family on Christmas Day. He was a rock hound for years. He often chatted with young visitors at his home using the collection of rocks as a conversation starter. He gave away samples of his finds to many children through the years. Dad knew that knowledge was to be shared.
All through his life, his faith in God has been a stronghold. He faithfully served God and his church family, serving as an elder for many years. He was a good listener, a loving heart, a biblical scholar and a great Bible schoolteacher. He embraced a leadership style that “lead with humor”. In his personal bible from many years ago, was this quote attributed to Augustine: “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty, and in all things, charity”. This is the way he lived. Never one to judge, he embraced his family (church and personal) with love.
In October 2017, at 83 years old, he took one last, long hike to Rainbow Falls in Mammoth. Nine short weeks later, he would be diagnosed with cancer. He approached this battle as he had so many other challenges he faced: with courage and perseverance. He quietly underwent tests, treatments and hospitalizations while enduring the ravages of cancer. He continued to find the positives in his condition, often poking fun at the progress of the disease on his daily musings on Facebook. He continued to maintain relationships with all his extended network of family and friends. His wit and witticism continued to inspire others to maintain a cheerful attitude.
On Tuesday, June 19, 2018, Jimmy quietly passed away at home, surrounded by his family. It is such a good thing to go home, into the loving arms of a faithful savior. He created a heavenly home for his family, and God created a heavenly home for Jimmy.
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