A memorial service will be held for Jimmy (Jim) Jimenez, 75, of Lompoc, Friday, December 30th, 10:00 am, at Queen of Angels Catholic Church, 3495 Rucker Road, Lompoc, CA. Reception to follow.

Mr. Jimenez was born in Visalia, CA, July 8, 1941 and passed away at the Santa Ynez Valley Cottage Hospital on December 14, 2016 after a two-year battle with pancreatic cancer.

As a boy, Jim moved to Oceanside, CA, where he developed a lifelong love of the ocean and surfing. He had fond memories of Oceanside/Carlsbad High School and still has friends from those years.

Jim was always attracted to cars and mechanics and was known around Oceanside for his white and red 1957 Corvette. He had an insatiable curiosity about how things worked and was always building model planes and boats and fixing cars.

Jim's dream was to become an engineer. At 22, military service interrupted his early college career. He served in Fort Hamilton, New York as a draftsman and was honorably discharged. Though it took him many years, with determination and perseverance, he graduated in 1975 with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from San Diego State University. He went on to get his Professional Engineers license in California.

In his more than 40-year career as an engineer, Jim worked for many different companies, traveling throughout the United States as a job-shopper, working on ships, nuclear power plants, hospitals, universities, churches and commercial projects. From 1996 to 2014, Jim worked for Lockheed Martin and United Launch Alliance (ULA) at Vandenberg Air Force Base, and traveled extensively. Jim's contribution to space launch and National Security programs included design work on various mechanical engineering projects and on numerous environmental control systems (ECS). Jim contributed significantly to the following major projects: Atlas IIAS, Titan II, Titan IV, Athena, and Atlas V. Jim was appreciated and respected by his peers and he was recognized as an expert in his field. Engineering was a career he took great pride in and found exciting and fulfilling. He retired in the fall of 2014.

Jim did, however, strive to live his life fully outside of the traditional image of an engineer. He surfed and boogie boarded into his 70s; danced at the first sound of music; laughed often and had a wonderful sense of humor. He tinkered with cars, especially his beloved 1960s Honda Civic and his 1967 Porsche 912 Targa.

Jim cherished his many deep friendships; enjoyed his membership in the fun-loving Turducken Dinner Group and was proud to have joined the Lompoc Elks Lodge shortly before his passing.

He beamed with love and pride as he watched his grandchildren grow into exceptional individuals and cherished every minute spent with them. Jim had a strong Christian faith and spent countless hours beachcombing and exploring tide pools with his loving wife, Anne.

Jim loved life. He and Anne traveled throughout the US, Canada, Mexico and Europe seeking out the people, art, culture and history and after each day he would ask "What was the highlight of today?" so as to savor and remember the day and not let life's meaning slip by. He devoured books on history, especially about World War II, loved the outdoors, and always had many projects underway at once. He would be cutting down trees while reroofing the house, all undertaken with great planning and thought. He tenderly cared for his fruit trees and yard while in constant pursuit of gophers. He lived every day with anticipation, energy, goals, humor, patience, and love. He dreamed, imagined, invented, explored, discovered, persisted, designed, built and created. He was a man full of love for life, family and friends. He will be greatly missed.

He is survived by his loving wife, Anne, with whom he shared 18 wonderful years; his daughters Michelle Jimenez and Mary Labnow and husband Troy; grandchildren Samantha Labnow, Melissa Labnow, Hannah Labnow, Zachary Labnow and Jacob Jimenez; sister Carmen Avalos and husband Manuel; many nephews and their families. He was preceded in death by his parents Joe and Mary Jimenez; brothers Manuel Jimenez and Raymond Jimenez and wife Celia.

Special thanks to the doctors and nurses at Santa Ynez Valley Cottage Hospital and all the beloved friends who celebrated life with Jim and have helped with love and support after his death. Donations may be made to the charity of choice.