In Memory of James K Mattis - Please leave your thoughts here.

Status
Not open for further replies.
M

Mike Turber

Joined
Oct 2, 1998
Messages
5,461
We have lost James (Jim) Mattis.

I have no words at the moment but I would like to leave a thread dedicated to a man I have grown to admire over the years. If Jim has touched your life, as he has mine, please leave your thoughts here.

Jim was a wonderful kind man and a gentleman. He has been here since day one and he has been around the net as long as I can remember and he was my first and only choice to become a moderator here in the beginning.

I wish I could find the words to convey my feelings at this moment.

I can't and won't try now.

We will miss you Jim.

------------------
Best Regards,
Mike Turber
BladeForums Site Owner and Administrator
Do it! Do it right! Do it right NOW!
Show Your Support -Visit Our Sponsors - Click On The Banners!
Visit www.onestopknifeshop.com
Sales from 1 Stop Knife Shop help support this site!
Also check out our new auction promo site.
www.wow-direct.com
 
Toni,

I’ve had a few online conversations with Jim over the years. Even through something as impersonal as that, it was obvious he cared about you and it was obvious he was, above all else, an honorable man.

I hope someone, someday, will be able to say as much about me.

Be strong.

------------------
Allbest,

Jim Six
Adventure, Intrigue & Cheap Thrills
jim@six.org
www.jim.six.org
 
I am so hurt, I feel I'm going to miss him though I never met him. He pointed me to BladeForums, through his website. He lit up more than just this game of knives with his wit and art and good honest business sense.
 
I don't even know what I should say. James was a man of faith, so I feel it appropriate to post a prayer in honor of that faith. This is the Mourner's Kaddish, the Jewish prayer of mourning:

kaddish_heb.jpg


Translation:

May the great Name of God be exalted and sanctified, throughout the world, which he has created according to his will. May his Kingship be established in your lifetime and in your days, and in the lifetime of the entire household of Israel, swiftly and in the near future; and say, Amen.

May his great name be blessed, forever and ever.

Blessed, praised, glorified, exalted, extolled, honored elevated and lauded be the Nameof the holy one, Blessed is he- above and beyond any blessings and hymns, Praises and consolations which are uttered in the word; and say Amen.

May there be abundant peace from Heaven, and life, upon is and upon all Israel; and say, Amen.

He who makes peace in his high holy places, may he bring peace upon us, and upon all
Israel; and say Amen.

-----

James, I wish I got to know you better - you will be missed.

--JB

------------------
e_utopia@hotmail.com

[This message has been edited by e_utopia (edited 09-16-2000).]
 
I wish that I could have met the gentleman in person. From what I have read and seen here on the forums, he was a great guy and all around good human being. You could always count on him to post a pic of whatever someone was wanting to see. You don't seem to meet very many people like that anymore. Even though I did not know him as well as many other forumites did, I will still miss him. When I first stumbled onto the forums, I thought I was in heaven. An entire community made up of people that love knives the same way I do. Almost like an extended family. I'm sure many of you feel the same. Here we can discuss, critique, harp on, and just talk about knives any which way. Something a lot of us can't do at work or home, because the people there just don't understand us. That's why I love this place so much. I stop by every day to see what is new. Now, one of that family is gone. Again, I say that I wasn't lucky enough to have known James as some of the rest of you have, but never the less, tears are running down my face as I type this. Wherever you have gone James, I know they have knives there, otherwise it couldn't be called Heaven, could it?

John
 
I was hoping that this was a cruel hoax.
I was wrong and I am sorry.

I'm more sorry for the loss of James. I pray that his family finds the strength to deal with the loss of their husband, father, grandfather and friend.

Someone once posted asking who's the most interesting member of BFC and James' name came out on top. He always knew what he was talking about, and passed along the information in an easy to understand, and almost always, in an incredibly humoristic and non condescending manner.

Out of all the BFC members, HIS posts were the ones I went out of the way to read. In chat, his humor and good nature came through like a laser.

Jim, you're probably looking down at all this from Knife Heaven, between getting aquainted with Jim Bowie and Al Mar and trying to read what we're sayin' about you on our monitors.

I sure hope you know where our hearts are at, even from that long distance reading. We're going to miss you big time, Jim.... This place won't be the same without you.

Mrs. Mattis, my family and I will pray for James, yourself and your family. There's not much more I can say other than the fact that I feel that your husband was a true gentleman and shed light, dispensed wisdom and was a source of friendship for untold numbers of people that knew him.

I'm thankful for having known him.

G-d Bless.
Sincerely,
David M. Gittelman


[This message has been edited by Vampire Gerbil (edited 09-16-2000).]
 
Jim was a gracious man. I chatted many times with him and enjoyed meeting him in person this past weekend and chatting with him and Toni on my alias Beowulf and knives. I will now gain a sentimental value out of the William Henry knife I traded with him for. I was going to carry it but now it will go into my cabinet that holds the things I hold dear. JKM you will be missed. God bless you and your family.

Arthur D. Washburn
ADW Custom Knives.
 
I'm at a lost of words and sadden with grief.
frown.gif
My heart goes out to you and your family, Toni.

James alway brought a lot of information to us in BF chat about "muzak and puukkos" (thats what as I always called them) and of course the great scans of knives.
smile.gif
I have my Frosts of Sweden here with me now. He taught me to appreciate a simple carbon steel blade that was inexpensive, but totally funtional. We use to talk a lot about foods and cooking as well: we shared the love for sushi. Just some thoughts that will stick with me forever. We just chatted the other nite.....man, I still can't believe he is gone.
frown.gif


Let us know if we may be of any assistance.



------------------
Ray 'md2020'

ATKI member #A001042
 
This can't be, I just met him in person at the Blade Show West, what a nice guy. My deepest and deepest condolence.......
 
In searching for words to describe James, "Gentleman" is the word that most often comes to mind. He truly was a "Gentle Man".

Courteous, Kind, "Grounded", Intelligent and all with a great sense of humor.

James, you will truly be missed. I wonder what "Tactical" you'll be using to cut apples in heaven. Take care.

John
 
I'll also miss Jim. We both shared a similar attitude towards the PRC. I didn't get to talk to him as much as I'd have liked to, but I know that he was a good man and was always looking out for the good of society (you can see this by how he gives a part of his sales to charity groups).
 
James was as rare and unique an individual as I've ever met. He was a wealth of information on many subjects. You could not walk away from an encounter with James the same. You always learned something from him. James - Thanks for letting our community have the chance to get to know you. You will be missed. Toni - our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

------------------
Kelly
My Custom Knife Collection
AKTI Member #A000289

Deo Vindice
 
The passing of James is indeed a sad day for Bladeforums, and a huge loss to his family. I will say a prayer for them, and hope that they will be able to cope with this. I never met James in person, but I have talked with him in the various knife chat rooms way back when we used the old para-chat. He was one of the nicest guys you could ever speak with. He was knowledgable, informative, very kind, and always had a good sense of humor. We always liked to joke with him about the Herman lock (the one where Tim only had to post in a thread, and James would lock it
smile.gif
). It was kind of a running joke. Tim would post, and we would make bets on when James would lock it. It was kind of a running joke, and James was so good natured. Even over the internet, it was so easy to see what a decent man James was. Every once in a while, some of us would give James a good-natured ribbing for one thing or another, he took it in stride, and could give as good as he got...always in fun...there was not a mean bone in that mans body. Even though I never met him in person, I feel as though I have lost a very good friend, and I will miss him greatly. Whenever I here of the type of music he likedl, or see a puuko knife (he loved those) I will always remember the fun times we had in chat. I also hope that I can become a better person due to the example that James set for us...James, you will be missed, but never forgotten.

Richard Todd
 
I am at a lost tonight. I have watch this man moderate this discussion forum in the last few years and marveled at how appropriate he always was--how much good he could always see. How much of a gentleman he truly is and how lucky we were to know him even in this vast (?)impersonal empire called the internet.

It doesn't feel impersonal tonight. There are very few times in my life that I feel my legs were kicked out from under me and tonight is one of those times and I never even met this man. He was like a security blanket, he was always there for us.

My thoughts and prayers are with the Mattis family and Jim, You will be missed and you will never be forgotten!

God bless you, sir.

Greg Mete
Kodiak Alaska
 
Toni all are warmest wishes are with you, and your family. I take comfort in that thought that you are with people that love you and James, and that they are close to you. We were blessed to know James, what a wonderful man he was.

I think it just the other night that James was leaving Chat to go to a concert at the LA Philharmonic, and I said my last "Nite James" to him. I hope the concert was wonderful.

We will all miss him, but rather than say goodbye I'd just like to say, "Nite James."

 
I knew him for a very short amount of time, but long enough to still call him a friend. I don't personally know his family but regardless, my heart goes out to them. I am sorry to hear such news so abruptly, but there really is no other way to receive it.

I do not know if I'll ever grow numb to the feeling of losing a friend.

Although many of you do not know me well, if there is any comfort or aid I am able to offer, do not hesitate to call on me.

Natsu kusa ya
Tsuwa mono domo ga
Yu me no ato

Dear James, Requiescat In Pace.

Shinryû.
 
Just remembering that last night in chat. The 12th, I believe. James was so excited about all the knives he had seen, and the people he had met, at the Show. Kept posting pictures of knives, while I begged him to stop, since there was no way I could afford them all
smile.gif
. Great guy; never had to worry that he wouldn't know what was a joke and what was serious. Always quick to help out anyone with a question, and even quicker to jump to the defense of anyone he felt was being treated unfairly. I was just thinking of ordering the BM705 for my modification project from him, just to keep it 'in the family,' so to speak. How quickly the world makes sudden turns.

May all the good and generous things James has done over his lifetime be returned upon his family one hundred times over. If any of you need anything, look through this thread and know that you have only to ask.

--JB

------------------
e_utopia@hotmail.com
 
My heart is on the ground.
I knew James mostly through the HI forum and had come to love him.
He always had the right sense of what was truly right.
He will be missed greatly.

Yvsa.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top