by Paul Gibb
Jim Mariner grew up in Kansas, finally landing in Colorado Springs in 1968. He had a wonderful 60-year marriage with his wife Anne, who died in 2019. He moved to the Boulder area in 2021 and joined our Fellowship. We need to thank his friend Judy Feland (whom some of us may remember) for directing him here. Currently, he resides at the Sunrise at Flatirons Senior Living facility in Broomfield.
When he was growing up, he was the smallest kid in his class (although he is quite tall right now), so he was never chosen to be on a sports team. A year younger that most of his classmates, he was not a very good student until the ninth grade, when he suddenly became an A student. Joining a science club at his high school got him started on his life path.
His father was very “old school” and made all the family decisions without consulting others. He was a “wildcatter” for an oil company, traveling around the Midwest looking for oil. His mother was “a traditional homemaker” who studied home economics, eventually landing a job in journalism with the American Hereford Journal. Loving parents, they made sure that Jim and his sister had everything they needed to meet life successfully.
Jim studied at Kansas State University and a couple of graduate years at the University of Kansas, finally earning his Masters degree at Emporia State University. He joined the National Guard and trained as a medic. He and his wife Anne joined the Peace Corps and taught Biology at a secondary school for boys in Ghana, West Africa. Teaching under the English system was a new experience for them. Although classes were in English, the English language was perhaps a third language for the boys. And although their students did unusually well on their exams, Jim is sure that he and Anne benefitted considerably more during their time in Ghana than they were able to contribute.
After that, Jim taught for three years in a public school in rural Kansas before finally finding a home in Colorado Springs. He and his wife taught in a boarding school there, teaching biology and chemistry. As Chair of the Science Department, Jim often found himself filling in when there was no one else to teach physics or any of the sciences offered.
Jim grew up Presbyterian and then was Methodist for many years, but never felt comfortable with the doctrines (like so many of us). He says that at the ’Ship he has made more close friends more quickly than he ever did at any other congregation. “I love the opportunities, the openness of ideas, and I feel like I’m at home here.” Like many others have told me, he loves Rev. Lydia’s opening words, especially “come back again because each week is different.” He loves the openness and how, when Lydia and others here make little mistakes, they simply smile and go on. “People here aren’t afraid to be who they are.”
At the Methodist church, he says, he felt “torn.” He found the idea of a God that looks down upon us and judges us to be especially hurtful. And when he took issue with a minister’s recent sermon in a discussion with his father about this issue, he was told that “you can’t just have any religion you’d like.”
Here at the ’Ship, Jim joined the Service Associate team and has just finished his first year. He has been a Service Leader twice. Called upon to provide a reflection as a Service Associate, he has preferred to offer up his own thoughts rather than trying to find something from another source. His reflection on Beauty, relating to the Soul Matters topic at the time, is an example of his ability to find the right words.
Jim recently spent three weeks at the CU Medical Center with what he calls plumbing issues. He jokes that he went there “hoping for a brain transplant, but they were out of any that were my size.” Whatever size his brain is, we are so lucky to have him here!!
Published November 14, 2023
