Jim was born in Salt Lake City, to Frank and Norma Dahn. He died after an almost 3 year battle with melanoma. He joined his mom, dad and brother, Scott "Zeke." He will be sorely missed by his daughter, Christina (Kris), his beloved dogs, Rerun, Chloe and Frankie, his sisters, Vicky and Susan (Steve), sister-in-law Tammy, nieces and nephews: Josh (Ashlie), Emily (John), Eric (Jessica) and Nicole (Ben), his great-nieces and great-nephews: Kayden, Kamren, Kyler, Taeon, Jaxzen, McKenna, Alyxandria, Jesse, Brooklynn and Harley, his surrogate grandsons: Killian, Wesley and Kyle Whipp, his brother from another mother, Craig Allen, his ex-wife, Vicki, and numerous family and friends around the world.
Jim was proud of his long career as a fire protection engineer, that allowed him to travel all over the world, which he loved. His interests were varied-he was a true renaissance man. He loved model trains and belonged to Utah Train Collectors Association (member for 20ish years) and Utah Garden Railroad Society, which allowed him to share his love with others. He felt at home in the mountains and forests, enjoying camping and fishing. Every Labor Day weekend, you could find him at Fort Bridger's Mountain Man Rendezvous, all decked out for the occasion. He helped teach the Sandy Senior Center's Astronomy class, on occasion, and attended star parties with his telescope, regularly. He loved to share his love of the stars with everyone. He loved the water and was a SCUBA instructor in his younger years, with SCUBA Utah, taught his daughter to love the water just as much, and was happy as a clam on a boat, on a lake somewhere (preferably Flaming Gorge). He raced his uncle's sailboat, "Indy," off the coast of San Diego. He loved going to car races with his dad and daughter, and often said, "There's nothing like the smell of methanol in the morning!" Photography is another hobby he enjoyed sharing with others, even doing photos for some weddings, but nature was his favorite subject. He was a grand story teller-sometimes tall tales, sometimes memories, and often a combination of both. He loved animals and they loved him back. Some of his favorite stories were of his close encounters with animals at the zoos. His favorite was a hippo named Hazina, who always came to the edge of her enclosure, to interact with him. Jim was an Emeritus Alumnus at the University of Utah, or as he called it, "the old people club." His blood ran red through and through, as a die-hard Ute fan, seen at every basketball game and gymnastics meet and many football games. He was in the US Army Reserves from 1966-1972.
In full Jim fashion, there will be a salsa party wake (he LOVED good salsa), on Saturday, May 7, 2016, from 6-8 pm, at the ward house at 1020 East Sunburn Lane (11600 South) Sandy, UT 84094. Please bring pictures of Jim, if you have them, memories/stories and please don't dress up, or he may just haunt us (ha ha!).
In lieu of flowers, please donate to a reputable cancer research organization or zoo/animal rescue of your choice, or, if you are unable to do that, spend some time in the mountains.
