|
James
F. Carey
(August 21, 1929 - February 4, 2006)
  James
F. ‘Jim’ Carey, age 76, died Saturday, Feb. 4, 2006, at the Via
Christi St. Francis Hospital in Wichita, KS from congestive heart
failure. He was born August 21, 1929 @
St. Louis
,
MO
the son of Joseph & Justine Carey. He was a Garden City resident
since 1981, having moved from
Reno
,
NV
. Jim won the Golden Gloves Lightweight
Boxing Championship while attending St. Mary’s High School in
St. Louis
. Following graduation, he served in the Army in the Korean War,
receiving the Korean Service Medal and the United Nations Service Medal.
Following the war, he attended
Tokyo
University
in
Tokyo
,
Japan
. Jim then went on to
Moberly
Junior College
in
Moberly
,
MO
in 1952, where he was a member of the college’s National Championship
Basketball team for 2 years. He was a 2 time All-American in 1953-55.
Graduating from
Drake
University
in
Des Moines
,
Iowa
, he was the MVP of the Missouri Valley Conference 1956-57, the Drake
basketball team captain and was an AAU All-American. Jim went on to
obtain his Masters Degree in Education at Norheast Missouri State
College and his Education Specialist degree in preparation for his
Doctorate at the
University
of
Nevada
.
Jim coached basketball at the high school
in
Tama
,
Iowa
. He then moved on to coach 11 years at Ellsworth Jr. College in
Iowa Falls
,
Iowa
, where his team won the National Jr. College Championship in 1971. He
is the only former player and coach to ever win the National
Championship. Jim then left to become Assistant Basketball Coach at
Arizona
State
University
and then Division I Head Coach at the
University
of
Nevada
. In 1981, he came to Garden City, where he coached and taught at the
Garden City Community College.
Over the 5 decades of coaching, he won
over 700 games, was a member of 6 Hall of Fames: AAU, NJCAA,
Ellsworth
College
,
Drake
University
,
Moberly Jr.
College & Garden City
Community College
. He was awarded the Governor’s Award in the state of
Nevada
for recognition of his service. He was recently notified of being
honored on the All Decade Team from the 1950’s at
Drake
University
.
A devoted husband, father and coach to
his former players, he enjoyed reading, gardening, swimming, Bass
fishing, Cardinal baseball, his constant companion Cricket the cat, and
spending time at their
Cottonwood
Lake
home in
Sterling
,
KS
On June 7, 1959, he married Felecia
Fountain in
Clark
,
Missouri
. She survives. Other Survivors include: 1 Son (& wife), Tim &
Kathy Carey of
Kinsley
,
Kansas
,2 Daughters (& husbands): Quinn & Ty Walker of Garden City,
Kansas
and Erin & Robert Kelley of
Dallas
,
Texas
. 6 Grandchildren: Riley & Piper Kelley of Dallas, & Jaimie,
Riane, Kameron & Kobe Carey of Kinsley.
Memorial Services will be held at 3:00pm
on Sunday, February 26, 2006 @ the Price & Sons Funeral Home in
Garden City.
|
