Jim Stevens, 45, of Glenwood Springs, passed away Thursday, April 24, 2008.

Jim was born July 3, 1962, in Memphis, Texas, to Everett and Astor Stevens. After attending High School in Colorado Springs and working at the Broadmoor, Jim moved to Glenwood Springs and resided there for more than 20 years. He attended Colorado Mountain College where he met his wife, Gabriela. Jim recently worked for the town of New Castle as the project coordinator. Previous to that he worked for Pitkin County in the 911 department and was director of communications for Garfield County.

Jim had an infectious smile and loved a good joke. He was warm-hearted and generous with his friends and community. He loved rafting Colorado's rivers and made the neighborhood kids laugh with his silly straw hat. He also had a passion for scuba diving. You could always count on Jim to go the extra mile when anything needed to be done; he had a huge heart and never wanted to hurt anyone's feelings.

Jim is preceded in death by his sister, Judith Barclay, and nephew, Jeffrey Daniel Barclay. He is survived and will be sadly missed by his wife, Gabriela; his parents, Everett and Astor Stevens, and brother Timothy Stevens of Amarillo, Texas, sister-in-law Carmen Nordby, brother-in-law Brian Nordby and nephew Alex Stefanescu, brother-in-law Rick Barclay, nephew John (Dorothy) Barclay, niece Betsy Silva, three grandnephews and -nieces and his loyal companion, Taylor.

Donations may be made to the "Little Red School House Club" for historical restoration, 0152 County Road 137, Glenwood Springs, CO 81601. An account has been set up at Alpine Bank, 2200 Grand Ave., Glenwood Springs, CO 81601.

A celebration of Jim's life will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday, April 29, at the Little Red School House on Canyon Creek Road in Glenwood Springs.