Jim Chastain reminded world that life is full of changes

Jim’s first bout with cancer resulted in the amputation of his right arm. For any person, that is traumatic. For a right-handed writer, it certainly "cramped his style,” but it did not deter him. He taught himself to write and type with the left one.

He used and enjoyed his writing talents, whether that was critiquing a film, writing a legal brief, a poem, or journaling through thoughts and observations about living with cancer.

Jim was incredibly proud to be LeAnn’s husband and the father of Maddye and Ford. He always spoke with great pride about what fine human beings they are.

Jim told me how grateful he was to work for Judge Gary L. Lumpkin at the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals.

Judge Lumpkin said about Jim, "I have always believed that the greatest blessings our heavenly Father gives us are the people blessings He places along our life’s journey. Jim was one of those blessings.”

Another of the judges, Arlene Johnson, spoke of how much she will miss her talks with Jim.

"We talked about family, writing, poetry and the process of dying. I learned some important lessons about life from him.”

Friendships were important to Jim. He stayed in touch and created times to get together. Some of those he’d known since childhood and others since college days. Then there are people like myself and Norman author Molly Griffis, both of us at least 20 years older than Jim.

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