Life After All : Remembering friend Jim Allnutt, 1947 to 2021

Monday, March 1, 2021

Remembering friend Jim Allnutt, 1947 to 2021

Tea with Jim at Lamb House, Rye, UK, 2018. Photo by Edward.

"I am a thousand winds that blow...I am a thousand stars that shine at night..." Indian proverb.

Jim's hybrid, one of my very favorites.
Photo by Edward.

Jim's lily

I was able to livestream a memorial service in Rochester, Kent, UK, today, for my friend Jim Allnutt, thanks to his loving husband Edward, or Teddy as Jim called him. Edward paid attention to every aspect of the service, from the minister's remarks, to his own loving eulogy, the stories, photos, the music, the poems. We could feel Jim's spirit in every detail, whether we attended in person or online. Edward made sure of it. Love spread across the ocean today.

Now I know Jim can be called Jim Eagle Feather, because his service was inspired by his profound belief in the spiritual and cultural life of Native Americans. "All life is inter-connected," they believed, and so Jim believed and practiced. I loved the Southwest shirts he wore, and his jewelry especially. The brilliant silver and turqoise. I learned he made jewelry too. Jim's life was "a life of beauty and value....full of compassion, kindness, love...." I feel so fortunate that we crossed paths, even briefly.

Native American
Eagle feather
headdress

Jim shared his love of the natural world, the English countryside, his own stunning garden, and gardens everywhere, with me and my friend Linda Furney when we visited England a few years ago. I always thought I would return to Rochester, Kent, but it looks like our reunion will take place in the Spirit World, where Jim now resides in glorious spendor. I can envision him in this Native American eagle feathers head-dress.

I do have wonderful memories of our visit. A day exploring Rochester, with its bold red brick castle, the ancient Cathedral, the Satis House of Dickens' Great Expectations, the lovely garden for tea. I thought I heard Dickens whispering his paeans to pastoral Kent county as we strolled the very streets he walked. I grew up in another Rochester, in New York state, so there was that connection too. When I think Rochester, I have two lovely places to remember.

Then, there was a fabulous day spent at the iconic Canturbury Cathedral, and another day tripping through the green and pleasant lands of Kent and Sussez on the way to Rye. Edward was driving and he told us stories and showed us special places as only a native can. In the charming port town of Rye, we strolled the streets and the harbour, visited Rye Castle (which once served as a women's prison) and toured the wonderfully restored Lamb House, the 18th-century mansion where American novelist Henry James once lived. We savored tea and cakes in the garden, enveloped in beauty and serenity.

Rye and the English countryside with Jim and Edward.

And then there's Jim the Gardener, who lovingly created and tended the beautiful garden he shared with Edward, hybridized day lilies, so stunning, planted the most exquisite flowers, roses and shrubs in all varieties, shapes, and sizes. They were colorful, and healthy. Edward was his photographer. He took so many exquisite photos I have a large album titled "Jim's Flowers and Garden by Ed."

Jim's purple poppy

Spring is coming to England soon, and signs of Jim will be everywhere. The sprightly, funny, playful dogs will miss him, too. Edward will sing to him. Jim made life beautiful and kind. That's how I'll always remember him.