Obituary of Ralph G James

Ralph G. James Jr. (Jim), 80, of Cape May, NJ, passed away Monday, March 22, 2021 after a brief illness. To some it was Jim and to others it was Jimmy. Either way you were sure to get his attention more than if you called him Ralph. Jim lived nearly his entire life in Cape May County and loved every minute of it. A graduate of Wildwood High School and a veteran of the Army National Guard, he was the longtime owner of the Trylon Motel in North Wildwood and spent his winters honing his carpentry skills with some of the best contractors. It was his love of the building trades that led him to be widely known as “the help desk”. There wasn’t a project that could defeat him and you always enjoyed his wise counsel and ability to bring out the inner Bob Villa (or better yet Norm Abrams!) in any person that would listen. Like many, Jim found a career change was necessary and put himself through higher education to become a Construction Code Official working in this capacity for more than 20 years. He worked for the City of Cape May, the Borough of Cape May Point and the townships of Middle and Dennis. He truly enjoyed working with many of the local builders, residents and craftsmen but had no time for B.S. While Jimmy was great at so many things he would never let you know it. He was humble and kind just like his mother Faye taught him to be. But the one thing he would crow about was his children and grandchildren. To Jim, his family was his most important accomplishment of his time here on earth. He was a proud uncle too and always loved to keep in touch. On most days if he wasn’t putting his master carpentry skills to work on his home he could be found in the yard making Tee Pees, Axe Throwing targets, charging up the riding toys, trying to avoid a coronary watching the Eagles or just quietly tending to his pond. While he had many wise words of wisdom, his best was “there is a difference between friends and acquaintances.” To him, true friends were family and he would do anything to help them. In his life he was also a volunteer firefighter, member of the Masonic Lodge and an avid fisherman. From a young age he could be found with a surf rod or captaining his own fishing vessels the Lisa Leigh and the Cool Change. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Christine nee Miles; two sons Jamie (Melanie and daughter Lindsay) and David (Mindy and children, Will, Molly and Ellis); daughter Amanda Curley (Chris and children Stella, Graham and Julia); 3 sisters Dianne Griesbach, Maxine Marvin and Carmen James; 1 African Gray Parrot Tika and 1 cat Thelma. The family will receive friends and family to celebrate Jim’s well-lived life on Thursday, April 1, 2021 at Ingersoll-Greenwood Funeral Home in North Wildwood from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM. In lieu of flowers please consider making a donation in his memory to one of his favorite charities- the Lazarus House at Burke and Pacific in Wildwood, NJ 08260, the Cape May Community Food Closet at Hughes and Decatur in Cape May 08204, Love of Linda Cancer Fund at PO Box 1053, Wildwood, NJ 08260 or the charity of your choice. Condolences may be sent to www.ingersollgreenwoodfh.com.