RIP Jim Pettit

Long-time Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer sportswriter and later local columnist Jim Pettit died last night. He had a heart transplant several months ago but never made it home. A heck of a guy, not much of a golfer. He will be missed.

 

RIP, Jim. An ACC fixture and a good guy.

 

I remember seeing Jim around the office for years. I believe he was in sports only briefly before moving over to metro after I arrived there in 2000. Jim was a kind man and he will sorely be missed.

RIP, Jim.

 

Here's a tribute written by a close friend a few months ago.

http://www.thepilot.com/stories/20080511/sports/golf/20080511Personal.html

 

Wow.

Saw some of his work, and had no clue he was in that kind of trouble health-wise.

RIP.

 

The obit:

http://www.fayobserver.com/article?id=317727

 

I worked with and for Jim for many years at the Observer and I learned a lot from the man. I was pretty damned undisciplined when I first got to Fayetteville and he took it upon himself to make me his personal project. He would always call me a "loose cannon." He was a very good columnist with a folksy style and an eye for the unusual, but more than that, he was a great man and an even better friend.

And while he wasn't a terrific golfer -- especially compared to his friend and mentor Howard Ward -- it wasn't for lack of trying. Every new swing, gimick or technique that came along, Jim bought the tape and gave it a try. He also had something of a driver fetish. He'd go through them like Obama is going through Health & Human Sevices nominees. Every couple of years, he'd have a garage sale and sell his old drivers off. I bet there's probably 30 of them in his garage right now.

In all seriousness, Jim has gone through hell physically these past 3-4 years. It's been hard watching such a larger-than-life man hooked up to a machine to help his heart keep beating. And yet, he kept cranking out columns until the bitter end. The world -- and our business -- just lost a truly unique individual. I will miss him terribly.

 

Two years ago, when I first met Jim, I knew I'd be in for a treat. A wonderful man with a winning smile and a strong devotion to LSU sports. The LSU bond proved to be one that helped Jim and his wonderful wife Becky grow close to our family. Jim and Becky would come over to watch our Tigers together many times, and I always enjoyed the traditions he's created even for his TV watching. Tigers on offense, hat goes this way. Tigers on defense, turn that hat around. He was never phased by the fact that he had to carry that God-awful machine around with him everywhere, Becky faithfully toting along extra batteries to stop that "annoying alarm" from going off. He'd cheer right along though, never letting something like a little machine get in the way. Especially during the BCS Title game.

A Tiger fan through and through, Jim and I would talk about our joys and our heartaches (mostly those given out by John Brady) and who the next big thing would be to wear the Purple and Gold.

Our last conversation was about recruiting. "Looks like a good class might be coming in. Hope none of them turn out like Perrilloux." I found a bit of solace in knowing LSU landed a No. 1 ranked class on the day he died. Sure, it may not seem like much, but Jim would have been thrilled by it.

We're going to miss you Jim.