JAMES WILLIAM WALKER MORRIS James William Walker Morris (known to friends as Jim) died at his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico on November 19, 2016 surrounded by friends. The following obituary was composed by friends in Santa Fe, NM and Santa Barbara, CA. Jim was born on October 13, 1925 in Tacoma, Washington. He spent his youth in the Pacific Northwest United States and in Western Canada, where many of his mother's relatives lived. Always an advanced, curious young man, Jim showed talent as a mechanical draftsman early in his school years, and during World War II, he was selected by the United States Navy to assist with mechanical drawings for the latest Navy armaments. When the draft board called, the Navy identified Jim as essential to its mission, so he spent the duration of the war working on Navy projects. This solidified Jim's love of the sea and of naval battles - when you visited him, you often found an open history book on the subject next to his chair with reading glasses resting on it. Amazingly, by a combination of hard work and crafty deal-making, Jim owned his first Pierce-Arrow at age of sixteen, starting a life-long love affair with the marque that continued until his death. After the death of his father, Jim and his mother moved to Santa Barbara, California. Jim worked for the City of Santa Barbara as a right-of-way engineer. Handsome and elegant, Jim cut quite a figure in the then-small town, and his friendliness and wide-ranging business competence soon caught the eye of Santa Barbara's largest engineering firm, Penfield and Smith. As Vice-President and General Manager for Penfield & Smith Engineers, he skillfully managed such tasks as right-of-way issues for Milpas Street or design problems at the Santa Barbara Airport. It was not unusual to see Jim conducting a "per chance" business meeting on a downtown street. It could be light and witty, but without exception his conversations were of substance. Later, Jim became President of the Santa Barbara Chamber of Commerce and was a member on numerous boards. Jim filled the positions with uncommon wisdom, integrity, and great organizational skills. In the 1970's, the United States Government selected Jim to be the United States representative at a United Nations-sanctioned meeting of more than fifty countries in Wilton, England. Jim was touched and honored by this commendation, and spoke of it often. Anyone living in Santa Barbara during the 50's, 60's and 70's would have been touched intellectually, visually, and audibly by this tall, silver-haired man. Entering Harry's Plaza Caf‚, you often met Jim in the flesh, but always met him in art, because his portrait hung front and center, revealing the image of a regal looking, steel blue-eyed man - so striking that he always maintained a Screen Actor's Guild card, and he and his cars were called on for various small roles. In the days of little to no traffic, your eye may have caught a glimpse of "Sir James" operating a 1947 Paris Salon Bentley, 1936 Pierce-Arrow V12 Convertible or possibly the Vanden Plas Princess. As Santa Barbara grew, Jim became restless and sought a new, smaller town to spend time in. He settled on Santa Fe, New Mexico, and by chance met one of his closest, life-long friends when he asked real estate broker Robert Moore to find a second home for him. Robert showed Jim a one bedroom condominium in a private location at Fort Marcy Compound. As an owner at Fort Marcy, Jim soon did what he did best, joining the Board of Directors and steering the project through its best years of growth and financial success. It was in Santa Fe that Jim began to truly focus on his love for art, acquiring a wonderfully diverse collection of landscapes and portraits. He had a knack for finding artists whose work was undiscovered, and owning art that rapidly grew in value and stature. Many people have commented that they liked every single piece in his collection. He continued his love of car-collecting, too, often taking first place with his cars at the Santa Fe Vintage Car Club's Fourth of July car show. Eventually, Santa Fe became too busy for Jim, and he bought a retreat in the New Mexico mountain town of Chama, enjoying a daily walk among the pine trees along the trout-fisherman's dream, the Rio Chama. Jim was a traveler, observer, a student of history, a lover of art, opera, automobiles and so much more. Always civil, always available, sharing wisely-crafted thoughts to all who asked for his time. A listener and man of good counsel, never taking his perspective and applying it to you, rather taking your perspective and encouraging the development of your ideas. A wordsmith, founded on the fundamentals of the highest use of the English language, Jim would pen notes and poems with great skill to friends from time to time. These are coveted. Aside from his stature and uncommon good looks you could not miss the true gentleman. Jim "holding court" amongst friends, judiciously sharing the wisdom gleaned as a great student of history, a student of life and mixed with his sense of humor always a time spent well. The world will miss James William Walker Morris.