Jim Havey: Remarkable Man, Remarkable Film Maker
I bear sad news in this week’s newsletter.
I am so heartbroken over the passing of filmmaker Jim Havey -- dear friend, photographer, filmmaker, creative powerhouse, and one of the kindest people I have ever known. I first met Jim back in 1999 after the publication of my first book, Molly Brown: Unraveling the Myth. I was a single parent raising two kids, working full time at a job I disliked, trying to make it as a writer. We met at a Jack-in-the-Box near my kids’ school so I could pick them up on time. Jim said he loved the book and wanted to make a documentary based on it, and thus Molly Brown: Biography of a Changing Nation came to be.
Jim believed in me. He changed my life.
Years passed and we stayed in touch. One day Jim showed me one of his stunning photos of a sunset in the Sangre de Cristo mountains near Westcliffe, and that led me and my husband George to buy a cabin there. We became good friends with Charlotte, his wife of over 40 years. We often met for dinner, sometimes at their mountain house, sometimes ours. (Jim loved my apple pie, and now, whenever I make it, I will think of Jim.)
When Full Body Burden was published in 2012, again, Jim wanted to make a documentary. Now that film is nearing completion, and incredibly it turns out it will be his last. At 2:26 pm on Friday, January 19th, Jim died from complications related to Alzheimer’s and Lewy Body dementia. His decline was very rapid. He was 74 years old. I still can’t write this without tears.
When Jim’s family was discussing where people could make a donation in his honor, they settled on linking to the Full Body Burden/Rocky Flats fundraising page. They believe he would have liked to further support telling important stories, just as he did in life. Nathan Church, director of the film, and I are deeply honored that they believe this is the best way to continue Jim’s legacy.
Jim Havey’s celebration of life will be February 10th, 2024, from 10 am to noon at the Denver Botanic Gardens. It is open to the public. If so moved, donations to help complete Jim's final project can be made through the International Documentary Association (https://fullbodyburden.allyrafundraising.com/)
Thanks for reading, and thanks to all of us who believe in the telling of important stories.
BOOK: Molly Brown: Unraveling the Myth
FILM Molly Brown: Biography of a Changing Nation
BOOK Full Body Burden: Growing Up in the Nuclear Shadow of Rocky Flats
Trailer for Full Body Burden: The Documentary