This is the story of an amazing, beautiful soul who left this life too soon.

Jim Ames arrived in this world on 10/25/1964 in Everett MA. He was welcomed by his parents John & Carol Ames and his siblings JT, Jean & Gary.

He was always on the move growing up in the projects near the Chelsea Creek. He could often be found playing games with the neighborhood kids, baseball, skateboarding, building & riding BMX bikes.

Some of his favorite childhood memories included getting his first bike (orange) that he had to push up & down the street until he learned to ride it. Once he did, he could only make left hand turns and was afraid to stop riding because he thought he'd never be able to do it again.

Another was swinging high from the crabapple tree in the backyard to be able to see the smoke & flames of the Chelsea Fire of 1973.

Collecting Johnny Lightening 500 cars using cereal coupons. Playing with plastic army men, cowboys, Indians & spacemen.

Listening to Maggie Mae on the car radio on the way to a Cape Cod family vacation at Corn Hill.

Seeing Star Wars at the drive in.

And his Nana dressing up as Mrs. Clause and making chocolate chip cookies for Christmas.

In his teen years his hair grew long, and he listened exclusively to Black Sabbath while partying with his friends in the Dutton Woods. His first & favorite car was his Dodge Dart. His father got him a job developing crime scene photos at the Chelsea PD. After graduating from Malden High in 1982, he attending Bunker Hill Community College and completed an HVAC certification program at Wentworth.

During those years Jim became passionate about playing music. Self taught, he became an exceptional bass player and guitar player. He also built an upright bass from scratch, played the mandolin, and in his 50's taught himself how to play the drums.

His love of music led him to be in a number of popular bands throughout his life, including The Rock of Faith, Riddler, The Orfans, The Still, and The Deloreans, playing in venues across Boston, NYC, and Cape Cod.

While he loved playing and performing in bands, his real musical passion was writing and recording his own music. Throughout his life he spent countless hours in his studio with his headphones on, doing take after take until he had crafted a song of perfection.

In the late 90's, Jim decided to exchange his urban life for one closer to the ocean, and moved his T-shirt screen printing business to Cape Cod.

Living on the Cape he discovered another passion that he excelled at, surfing. It's also where he fell head over heels in love with his future wife, LeeAnn, and they created a uniquely magical home and beautiful life with their 'boys', their two rescue dogs Friday & Grommet.

Travel was an important part of their lives, exploring places from California to Italy. Many winter months were spent surfing warm waves in the sunshine of Costa Rica & Puerto Rico. They immersed themselves in RV beach life on Nauset Outer Beach in the spring and fall. They delighted in long summer days canoeing & kayaking with their 'boys' at their cherished lake house in the White Mountains, and brought them on all their adventures throughout New England.

Jim became employed at Housing Assistance of Cape Cod in 2004, and the work that he did there helped hundreds and hundreds of senior citizens and low income families be able to stay in their homes. It wasn't unusual for him to go above and beyond his job description in order to be of service to those in his community, and would often receive heartfelt gratitude in the form of cards, letters and baked goods for all the little extras he gave them.

When he wasn't helping people with their homes, he was often doing a project of his own. Whether it was gutting & remodeling the kitchen, digging a hole in the backyard & building a pool from scratch to recreate the hot springs experience from a road trip in the Southwest, or building a chicken coop that looked like Frodo Baggins house, he was always finding uniquely artistic ways to create and enhance the personal space of his family. Sometimes the first attempts at a project didn't always work, but he would always find a humorous way to share those anecdotes with his brother Gary.

Jim always stayed up late, and slept in even later.

He loved going out for breakfast. Blueberry pancakes & home fries were his go to.

He loved mashed potatoes, eggplant parm and Indian food.

Vanilla chocolate twist ice cream was his favorite sweet in the summer. Apple crisp in the fall.

He loved Christmas and would religiously watch 'A Christmas Story' and 'It's a Wonderful Life' every holiday season.

Jim was always up for a game of Scrabble, badminton, or a puzzle.

It didn't matter if it was painting a picture, writing a screenplay or making a music video, he thrived on being creative.

He enjoyed supporting local artists, theater and music.

His favorite movies that he watched over and over again were 'Cannery Row', 'The Endless Summer', 'Lord of the Rings', and 'The Nightmare Before Christmas'.

His favorite authors were Steinbeck and Christopher Moore.

He was an avid fan of and musically inspired by The Beatles, Pink Floyd, The Cure, and Luna. He also loved 80's and techno music.

He was an excellent dancer and would often twirl his wife around the kitchen to the playlist of their favorite songs.

Jim never missed an opportunity to gaze up at the night sky, always on the lookout for satellites and shooting stars.

He adored listening to hooting owls, the mournful cries of loons, and could identify just about every bird by their song.

He always collected beach glass and shells as he walked along the ocean, and he always skipped rocks across ponds & lakes.

He left post it notes with loving messages on the kitchen counter for his wife almost every morning for over twenty years.

Jim wasn't really into sports, but he did enjoy a Bruins game.

He loved to laugh and make others laugh. He and his brother Gary would exchange silly texts messages on a daily basis. He liked funny movies & stand up comedians, and always wanted to help everyone around him feel better by sharing a chuckle.

He developed quite a green thumb over the years and cultivated a knowledge for growing all kinds of plants from Morning Glories to Mary Jane.

Without any hesitation or concern for his own safety, he paddled out on his surfboard into a dangerous rip tide in Costa Rica to save the lives of two strangers who were drowning.

Without being asked, he drove to NYC the day after 9/11 to volunteer in whatever capacity he could.

He never said no to anyone who asked him for help. Ever.

He always asked how he could help.

And he made the best grilled cheese sandwiches.

This is only a tiny glimpse of the kind, generous & loving soul that made such an incredible impact in the world before a rare and incurable illness forced him to leave this life too soon on the 11th of September, 2025.

He will be forever missed by his loving wife, LeeAnn Minichiello, mother Carol (Cummings) Ames, brother Gary Ames and his wife Allison, nephews Josh, Gary, Cory, niece Nicole and their families, as well as cherished friends Kenny Avola, Bobby Palumbo, Joe Bernier & Michael Dodge & Melissa Joerg.

He was met on the other side by his father John Ames, brother JT Ames, sister Jean Ames, and his 'boys' Friday & Grommet.

Jim will be remembered fondly forever by every single person that had the privilege to meet him , know him and love him.

Because everyone loved Jim.