JAMES K. DAUGHERTY
January 24, 1953 ~ March 29, 2022 (age 69)
James Kenneth Daugherty, aged 69, passed away March 29, 2022. A lifelong Berea resident, he and his brother were raised on Waverly Street by their late parents, Kenneth and Arlene. Jim often jokingly boasted about being the longest resident on Lynn Drive, where he lived the last 36 years. As a boy, Jim and the Daugherty family had many adventures, which sparked his favorite pastimes which continued into adulthood of summer camping trips with family, fishing, boating, hunting, and visiting new places. He graduated from Berea High School in 1971 and was a member of the football team and National Honors Society. He went on to graduate from Bowling Green State University with an education degree, and spent most of his professional career in the education field in various capacities, eventually retiring from Westlake City Schools in 2014.
Since retirement, Jim loved reading, cooking (his enchiladas were a delicious, if unconventional staple to accompany Christmas dinner), grilling, and building things in the garage. Jim was someone who could fix absolutely anything. Over the years he amassed an impressive collection of hand tools, power tools, fasteners, and know-how to do practically anything from repairing engines to fixing plumbing issues, and creating things from scratch. He had a love/ hate relationship with electronics, most notably his iPhone, and never met a dog he didn’t like. He took up an interest in motorcycles and planned many long-distance trips with his biker friends. In recent years, Jim and his wife, Sandy, followed in his family’s footsteps and spent much of their free time going camping around the country in their Winnebago.
Above all, Jim’s greatest love was his family. He is survived by his loving wife Sandy of Berea, daughter Kristin (Bob) Cope of Berea, son Ken (Calle) of Cleveland, stepdaughter Erin (Scott) Miller of Hudson, stepson Blair (Jessica) Cameron of Olmsted Falls, and brother Cliff (Karen) of North Royalton. He adored being “Jimpa” to his six grandchildren, Isabelle, Danielle, and Miles Cameron, and Ryan, Megan, and Grace Miller. He was a cherished neighbor and friend to many.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations in his honor to the The Education Foundation of the Berea City School District
https://www.educationfoundationberea.org/james-k-daugherty.html
Philip Kechele
Jim was one of my closest friends, even though we lived far apart during our adult years. I will always remember when he was touring the U.S.A. via car and motorcycle back in 1976 he stopped and stayed at my place in Missoula, Montana both coming and going on his journeys. I took him on a tour of the local bars and basically dragged him on a hike up to the summit of a mountain peak in the Bitterroot Mountains. He had some ill-fitting new boots and ended up with horrendous blisters on his feet. In the 1990's while I was visiting my Parents in Berea, Jim picked me up to take me on a harrowing mid-night ride roaring over the waves of Lake Erie on his speed-boat that he named "The Desperado". We put the boat in at the Rocky River Marina at Sunset and he roared over to Cleveland, then went cruising way up the Cuyahoga River through "The Flats". The river was quite high due to recent heavy rains and we saw many logs, debris, and even submerged trees floating out towards Lake Erie. Heading back to the Rocky River Marina after Midnight Lake Erie was pitch black...I was amazed how many boats were out on the lake that time of night and they appeared to be fishing. Jim opened up the throttle and we were roaring across Lake Erie, bouncing off the waves. I pointed out to Jim that all those logs we saw floating down the Cuyahoga River were ending up in the lake and I sure hoped we wouldn't hit one going at high speed in the dark. He didn't seem too worried, guess he was paying me back for those nasty blisters. I miss Jim. He was always a pleasure to talk to, even when years passed between our conversations.