James A. Malay Obituary (1937 - 2015)

Jim Malay died peacefully in his Lake Bloomington home at 11:32am on Saturday, January 24. He was born in Moline, Illinois on November 26, 1937. He is preceded in death by his father Paul Joseph Malay, his mother Mary Gorman Malay, his sister Rosemary Malay Robinson and his brother John Malay. The most important date in his life was August 20, 1960 when he married his college sweetheart Elaine Fitzgerald. They had four children Susan, Julie, Karen and Jimmy. Jim started his first job at Masseys Ace Hardware on his 14th birthday. He graduated from Dixon High School in 1955 and from St. Ambrose College in 1959 with a degree in political science. Jim served active duty in the U-S Army from 1959 -1960 and in the Army Reserves for four years.He joined State Farms Life Company in 1960 and rose to the position of VP Life Policyholder Services. In 1980, he transferred to Service and Systems and assumed the role of VP Policyholder Services for Auto, Fire, Life Health. This period was the most rewarding of his career and he truly appreciated the opportunity to be involved in all of the growth accomplished during this time. He made many treasured and enduring friendships during his years at State Farm.One of the many highlights of his career was taking part in the Agency Incentive Travel Programs where he attended business meetings around the world. He loved traveling with Don Rood and fondly recalled that they always seem to end up on back roads, beaches and alleys with the locals.Jim was an active member of his community. He was a longtime CCHS Booster Club member, a 40-year YMCA member including five years on its board as Financial Committee Chairman. He was a Eucharistic Minister at St. Marys of Lexington and Bro-Men Hospital. He served for six years, three years as President, for OSF-St. Josephs Hospital Community Board. Jim and Elaine were Crystal Ball Honorees in 1985 for their outstanding contributions to OSF-St. Josephs Hospital.He was a longtime member of the University Club of Chicago He studied in the Illinois State University Masters Program and took part in the Great Books program. He was a member of the Lake Bloomington Monday Night Poker Club for 30 years.Jim was a loyal alum of St. Ambrose University and proud that his oldest daughter, Susan, graduated from there as well. He was on the St. Ambrose Executive Council for ten years and National Chairman of its Presidents Club for three. In 2001, he was honored with the Distinguished Alumni Award and, in 2008, he received the McMullen Award for his support and contributions.Jim was Secretary of the Lake Bloomington Long-Range Planning Committee and a charter member of the Thursday Night Run Club with Larry Nelson. Together, they founded the 10K Lake Run which continues to be popular thirty years later.The organization he cared most passionately about was Timber Pointe Camp, a summer camp at Lake Bloomington for Easter Seals campers. Jim served as President of the Timber Pointe Charitable Foundation for 15 years. He also had the honor of serving as Commodore of the Timber Pointe Yacht Club. Every summer Wednesday evening for 20 years, Jim commandeered a dozen to two dozen captains and boats, picked up the campers and led them on a magical boat ride around the lake. Jim also oversaw significant capital improvements to the camp including the Woods Arts Center and The Lodge, a beautiful facility overlooking the lake. Under his stewardship, the camp went from accommodating 300 children every summer to over 1,500. For his work with the camp, Jim was named a Paul Harris Fellow by the Rotary Foundation.In 1982, the Malay and Brady families traveled to Ireland for an enchanting trip to visit daughter Julie in Tullycross and to see Irish relatives in County Kilkenny. This led Jim to obtain his Irish citizenship and passport and to return to Ireland 14 times. With Jims encouragement, his oldest granddaughter, Molly, attended Kylemore Abbey in Connemara. His last trip to Ireland was in April 2014 to visit grandson Ryan who spent a semester at NUI "Galway.Jim was a beloved grandfather who spent innumerable hours driving his boat around the lake pulling his grandchildren on inner tubes, playing Leprechaun, and teaching them state capitals and presidents. Jim passed along his love of adventure and travel to his entire family. In addition to countless trips to the East Coast for grandchildrens First Communions, Confirmations and graduations, Jims recent trips included touring Northern Spain in 2010 with daughter Karen and granddaughters Nora and Maggie which included a visit to Barcelona to see his long-time companero, Jose Serra. In 2010, he had a wonderful reunion in Ireland with the Millea clan. He took his family to Mexico in 2009, to London in 2012, and, to the Dominican Republic for Christmas in 2013.Jims favorite film was Wizard of Oz in which the Wizard says "A heart is not judged by how much you love but by how much you are loved by others." Jim was deeply loved by the family who survives him: his wife Elaine, daughters Susan McNary, Julie Friedmann, Karen Compton, and son Jim Malay, sons-in-law Bill McNary, Ed Friedmann, Spencer Compton and daughter-in-law Alicia Malay as well as grandchildren Molly, Kathleen, Maggie, Ryan, Ellie, Nora, Meghan, Nell, Liam and Sarah. We will all mourn and miss our adored patriarch.Visitation will be on Tuesday, January 27, 2015, from 4-7 p.m. at Carmody-Flynn Funeral Home, Bloomington. His funeral mass will be held at Epiphany Catholic Church on Wednesday, January 28, 2015 at 10 am. The Reverend Michael Schaab and The Reverend Carl LoPresti will officiate. Burial will follow in the Lexington Cemetery, Lexington.In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to The Jim Malay Endowment Fund, Timber Pointe Charitable Foundation, 20 Timber Pointe Lane, Hudson, IL, 61748.