Obituary for JEANNE MAY NIMS BALDWIN
Jeanne May Nims was an incredibly lucky lady to be born to an amazing bloodline of the "Nims" descent! Her life's path was created by her but it came from her Grandfather, William Phineas Nims and her Father, Eugene Lloyd Nims. They settled in Ekalaka, Montana in July of 1910 and with the help of so many friends and relatives, they homesteaded land, built their house, barn, farmed the land and built W.P. Nim's Meat market all in less than 90 days. Dan Dague(Scrubby)was married to W.P. Nim's niece and he and his brother, the famous "Big Kid" helped Bill and Gene settle there. I've read the journals of W.P. Nims to Jeanne May many times and we both realize the tremendous help the people in Ekalaka gave freely to insure success. Many know the rest of this story about the early days, but Gene continued this by marrying Esther Dunheim and having two amazing daughters to insure that the Nims name was carried on. Jeanne May Nims was born February 2, 1924 as the first child of Eugene and Esther Nims of Ekalaka, Montana, followed by her sister, Marcie Lee. Her life was shared with many close families of the day, Mobries, Tooke's, especially the Speelmon's, Castleberries, Ruth Townsend, her lifelong friend from the Albert families, Dagues and so many more there's not enough room today to mention all of them. She completed all of her school years there and graduated with the Class of 1942 with the whole world in front of her. War was in everybody's life then and she joined the Navy Waves and was on the troop train as they gathered young ladies across the entire United States. She wen to Hunter's College for training and then was sent to California to aid in the war. There, her life took a huge leap as she met her Husband, James Baldwin, one night at a dance. They were married a week later with both having the same dream of a family and life together. They owned their first Motel, Lucky Baldwin's Evergreen Lodge in West Yellowstone where two of their 3 boys were born. A few years later, they sold this motel and while looking for another Motel to buy, they spent time in Big Timber, Montana and while there their 3rd son was born. This completed their family, with sons Charles Eugene, James William, and Michael Nims. All had their middle names added from both sides of their families. They moved to Newport, Oregon after purchasing the Tides Motel and stayed there for three years. Moves in later years included Kalispell, Montana and the A&W rootbeer stand there and Harlowton, Montana as Coast to Coast Store owners. All of these moves were part of their dream to live in Big Timber, Montana and they had already purchased the land for a new home and Motel there in 1956. The hard work and especially the teamwork they had made their dreams come true. In 1959 construction was started on the new Motel they named "The Lazy J Motel" and while their store in Harlowton was being sold, they lived in Big Timber and continued to add more units to the motel here. Jeanne May was diagnosed with MS in 1974 and they had to give up the beautiful motel to let her have a less stressful life. They bought some land on Old Boulder Road and in 1975 the Osen family created their retirement home. James Baldwin passed away in 1992 leaving a huge void in Jeanne's life. She has remained in her home all these years, never complaining about the hand she was dealt with the MS. Her personality and upbringing gave her such faith in her Lord Jesus Christ that anger and hate were never a part of her. She loved her life on this place she called home with all the animals and birds here. In her last years, she was almost totally blind and due to the poor handling by a lady who came one time to help her, she had her hip broken and was to spend the last two and one half years in bed. Never complaining. We lost Jeanne May thursday, April 2nd, 2015 after three months of the compassionate help from Hospice care in Big Timber. Words cannot explain these Angels that helped her. I can't list everyone these past years who helped us both through her last Season but they know and so do I. We were both blessed by God with this help. Jeanne had a wonderful life, a husband of choice on a moment's notice and she and Jim never looked back but treasured every day because they were a team and were in love. They are all missed greatly and the sacrifices they both made for their children are known deeply. So, I say goodbye to her once more, knowing she is safe and whole again. Her life was a success because she knew her Lord and also knew how much her own family did to allow her to have this life. Jeanne never wanted a funeral service, just to have her remains placed in a special spot near the house that she and her Mother, Esther loved. A small and informal Ceremony of her life was held Saturday, April 4th, 2015 at her home for family members and those invited who truly understood who she was. Music was given by Alex Wilkins, Poetry was shared by Joan Vandaveer that she had read to Jeanne and a close friend spoke of Jeanne's life and her Faith. A fine Day with birds singing, Mom's wild animals appearing as needed and most of all her friends she loved.
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