A short while ago, Jamestown, Chautauqua County, and all of Western New York lost a bastian of the community, a man who quietly made a loud impact on our community and a man who touched the lives of so many, both young and old, and everyone in between.
Jim Abdella served this community as an attorney, as a youth baseball coach, as a volunteer of so many groups, as a journalist, as an adviser, as a dedicated husband, father, friend, sports fan, and as a citizen. I got to know Jim through his service as a youth baseball coach back in the 1970s. Jim was a Babe Ruth Baseball coach, a man who taught the game to his players, who played by the rules, and who quietly fought for his players if someone tried to infringe on the rights of those players, but more importantly, he wanted his players to enjoy what they were doing. Being an umpire, I saw the excellent attorney skills Jim possessed as there were times he came out to discuss a particular call, or rule, and he acted just as professionally as a baseball coach as he always acted in his law office, but presented his "case" persistently, as if representing a client. If there were ever a man who could wear the moniker of "Gentleman Jim," it will forever be Jim Abdella.
Jim gave up coaching, I switched from umpiring to coaching, and I didn't have the contact with Jim I had during these earlier times. I did follow his service as the president of multiple Babe Ruth World Series, and I have always enjoyed reading his words every Sunday in his column in The Post-Journal.
There are a couple of things that stand out in mind about Jim Abdella. First, Jim gave everything he had to everything he did. Whether in his role as a family man, as a coach, as an attorney, as a journalist, as a community volunteer, as a member of a civic committee on which he served and as a sports fan, Jim gave 100 percent of himself.
Another thing that stands out in my mind about Jim Abdella, is the way that he went about his business in ALL of the situations with which he was involved. Jim was a "quiet" man, who "shouted" volumes in all that he did. He wrote his columns, he pleaded his cases, he did his negotiations, he questioned calls on the baseball diamond, and though I wasn't in his home, I would believe he served his roles as husband and father, in the quiet manner with which he did all of the many other things in his life. He spoke softly, but in most cases, definitely got his point across to those with whom he was dealing.
In knowing Jim Abdella (even for a short time) and reading his column, and following his service to his community, there wasn't anything you couldn't find fault with as he lived his life. He seemed to do everything the right way. He seemed to be so passionate and so work driven, while at the same time being so "even keeled." He had an infectious smile and I never heard anyone say anything bad about Jim Abdella.
Jim left this earth after a courageous battle with cancer, a battle which slowed him down, but couldn't stop him until the end, another trait that Jim exemplified to the many who knew him.
As I said earlier, I hadn't had a lot of contact with Jim since our encounters back in Babe Ruth Baseball, but it was hard not to see his involvement in family and his community, and not be affected by Jim Abdella. Jamestown, Chautauqua County and Western New York is a little emptier since Jim has passed, but Heaven is a bit more crowded. Thank you, Jim Abdella. Rest in Peace.
