JIM ECKSTEIN

St. Petersburg, Fla.

        Jim Eckstein, 53, of St. Petersburg, Fla., died of cancer Jan. 31 at St. Anthony’s Hospital in Seminole, Fla. Funeral services were held Thursday at Holy Family Catholic Church in St. Petersburg, with burial in Clearwater, Fla. A memorial Mass will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Dowling High School chapel in West Des Moines.

        Mr. Eckstein was born in Fort Dodge and had lived in Des Moines before moving to Florida in 1987. He worked as a social worker for the Family Crisis Team of Children and Families of Iowa and as the Family Crisis Program Director of Pinellas County, Fla. He was an Army veteran of the Vietnam War. He enjoyed Iowa Hawkeye athletics and coached softball and basketball teams in the Des Moines recreation league.

        He is survived by his parents, Richard and Mary Eckstein of Tampa, Fla.; a sister, Denise Eckstein of Cupertino, Calif.; and a brother, David of Anderson, S.C.

        Memorial contributions can be made to Children and Families of Iowa. Anderson-McQueen Funeral Homes of St. Petersburg handled arrangements.