Deceased Name: James Baker -Jarvis: Wife remembers NIST scientist killed by tree branch
Karen Baker-Jarvis pauses while speaking about her late husband, James Baker-Jarvis, at her home near Lyons on Thursday, Jan. 5. (Richard M. Hackett/Times-Call) ( RICHARD M. HACKETT )
LONGMONT -- Karen Baker-Jarvis kissed her husband on the forehead, told him she loved him, closed the car door, and ran into the road screaming for help Saturday.
Passers-by stopped, including a doctor, but the man who she said spent his life protecting her and their family succumbed to injuries he suffered when high winds sent a tree branch through their car's windshield and into his chest. Though badly injured, he managed to pull over the car and stop it safely.
James "Jim" Baker-Jarvis, 61, is survived by his wife, daughter Aquene and son Duff. The accomplished National Institute of Standards and Technology physicist left behind a large extended family, including nine siblings and their families, and hundreds of friends and co-workers, Karen Baker-Jarvis said.
On Thursday, she displayed photos of her husband spanning 32 years of their marriage, including one of him in his 20s in the 1970s with is long hair held back with a small headband adorned with a feather tucked under it. Other family photos chronicled time spent riding freight trains and sleeping in hammocks suspended in the cars or, perhaps most importantly, the family navigating white-water rapids in canoes. The couple loved white-water canoeing so much that they both became instructors and traveled to white-water spots around the country.
"His whole life was just a wild ride," she said.
Jim Baker and Karen Jarvis met at the University of Minnesota as members of a rovers club that took them on adventures around the world. When they married, they hyphenated their last names, with his first and hers second. Sometimes, she said, his friends would tease him about the apparent break with tradition.
The family moved several times, ultimately landing in Boulder and Lyons. Jim Baker-Jarvis worked at NIST for 22 years, where his efforts earned him prestigious awards, including two NIST bronze stars and a fellowship with the Institute of Electrical and
James Baker-Jarvis, 61, pictured in family photo from a canoe trip, was killed Saturday, Dec. 31, when high winds sent a tree branch through the windshield of his car and into his chest. Baker-Jarvis was a theoretical physicist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. (Photo courtesy Karen Baker-Jarvis) ( Courtesy Karen Baker-Jarvis )
Electronics Engineers. He published more than 50 papers in different physics disciplines, including dielectric and magnetic measurements, microscopic electromagnetics and fracture theory.
"You'd just find things all over the house with equations scribbled on them," she said.
In fact, an algorithm was named for her husband, and he was sometimes approached with reverence at conferences. She said he was a "rock star" in his "tiny niche" of science. However, she added, after 32 years she was still not clear on his work. According to a biography prepared by co-workers, his work "had important applications for the microelectronics, telecommunications and aerospace industries."
She recalled that he loved to work around his house in the hills of Lyons, particularly with his chain saw, and his hands looked more like a plumber's than a scientist's.
Since her husband's death, Karen Baker-Jarvis said, she has fielded hundreds of phone calls and has been overwhelmed by those offering condolences and assistance. The food, alone, has strapped the family's storage capabilities.
Her husband showed no signs of curbing his wanderlust even as he embarked on his 60s. She said he hoped to bike across the country and had talked about taking time off in March to start a trek in San Diego.
Funeral services were held Saturday at Ahlberg Funeral Chapel.
Longmont Ledger (CO)
Date: January 8, 2012
Karen Baker-Jarvis pauses while speaking about her late husband, James Baker-Jarvis, at her home near Lyons on Thursday, Jan. 5. (Richard M. Hackett/Times-Call) ( RICHARD M. HACKETT )
LONGMONT -- Karen Baker-Jarvis kissed her husband on the forehead, told him she loved him, closed the car door, and ran into the road screaming for help Saturday.
Passers-by stopped, including a doctor, but the man who she said spent his life protecting her and their family succumbed to injuries he suffered when high winds sent a tree branch through their car's windshield and into his chest. Though badly injured, he managed to pull over the car and stop it safely.
James "Jim" Baker-Jarvis, 61, is survived by his wife, daughter Aquene and son Duff. The accomplished National Institute of Standards and Technology physicist left behind a large extended family, including nine siblings and their families, and hundreds of friends and co-workers, Karen Baker-Jarvis said.
On Thursday, she displayed photos of her husband spanning 32 years of their marriage, including one of him in his 20s in the 1970s with is long hair held back with a small headband adorned with a feather tucked under it. Other family photos chronicled time spent riding freight trains and sleeping in hammocks suspended in the cars or, perhaps most importantly, the family navigating white-water rapids in canoes. The couple loved white-water canoeing so much that they both became instructors and traveled to white-water spots around the country.
"His whole life was just a wild ride," she said.
Jim Baker and Karen Jarvis met at the University of Minnesota as members of a rovers club that took them on adventures around the world. When they married, they hyphenated their last names, with his first and hers second. Sometimes, she said, his friends would tease him about the apparent break with tradition.
The family moved several times, ultimately landing in Boulder and Lyons. Jim Baker-Jarvis worked at NIST for 22 years, where his efforts earned him prestigious awards, including two NIST bronze stars and a fellowship with the Institute of Electrical and
James Baker-Jarvis, 61, pictured in family photo from a canoe trip, was killed Saturday, Dec. 31, when high winds sent a tree branch through the windshield of his car and into his chest. Baker-Jarvis was a theoretical physicist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. (Photo courtesy Karen Baker-Jarvis) ( Courtesy Karen Baker-Jarvis )
Electronics Engineers. He published more than 50 papers in different physics disciplines, including dielectric and magnetic measurements, microscopic electromagnetics and fracture theory.
"You'd just find things all over the house with equations scribbled on them," she said.
In fact, an algorithm was named for her husband, and he was sometimes approached with reverence at conferences. She said he was a "rock star" in his "tiny niche" of science. However, she added, after 32 years she was still not clear on his work. According to a biography prepared by co-workers, his work "had important applications for the microelectronics, telecommunications and aerospace industries."
She recalled that he loved to work around his house in the hills of Lyons, particularly with his chain saw, and his hands looked more like a plumber's than a scientist's.
Since her husband's death, Karen Baker-Jarvis said, she has fielded hundreds of phone calls and has been overwhelmed by those offering condolences and assistance. The food, alone, has strapped the family's storage capabilities.
Her husband showed no signs of curbing his wanderlust even as he embarked on his 60s. She said he hoped to bike across the country and had talked about taking time off in March to start a trek in San Diego.
Funeral services were held Saturday at Ahlberg Funeral Chapel.
Longmont Ledger (CO)
Date: January 8, 2012
Deceased Name: James Baker -Jarvis: Wife remembers NIST scientist killed by tree branch
Karen Baker-Jarvis pauses while speaking about her late husband, James Baker-Jarvis, at her home near Lyons on Thursday, Jan. 5. (Richard M. Hackett/Times-Call) ( RICHARD M. HACKETT )
LONGMONT -- Karen Baker-Jarvis kissed her husband on the forehead, told him she loved him, closed the car door, and ran into the road screaming for help Saturday.
Passers-by stopped, including a doctor, but the man who she said spent his life protecting her and their family succumbed to injuries he suffered when high winds sent a tree branch through their car's windshield and into his chest. Though badly injured, he managed to pull over the car and stop it safely.
James "Jim" Baker-Jarvis, 61, is survived by his wife, daughter Aquene and son Duff. The accomplished National Institute of Standards and Technology physicist left behind a large extended family, including nine siblings and their families, and hundreds of friends and co-workers, Karen Baker-Jarvis said.
On Thursday, she displayed photos of her husband spanning 32 years of their marriage, including one of him in his 20s in the 1970s with is long hair held back with a small headband adorned with a feather tucked under it. Other family photos chronicled time spent riding freight trains and sleeping in hammocks suspended in the cars or, perhaps most importantly, the family navigating white-water rapids in canoes. The couple loved white-water canoeing so much that they both became instructors and traveled to white-water spots around the country.
"His whole life was just a wild ride," she said.
Jim Baker and Karen Jarvis met at the University of Minnesota as members of a rovers club that took them on adventures around the world. When they married, they hyphenated their last names, with his first and hers second. Sometimes, she said, his friends would tease him about the apparent break with tradition.
The family moved several times, ultimately landing in Boulder and Lyons. Jim Baker-Jarvis worked at NIST for 22 years, where his efforts earned him prestigious awards, including two NIST bronze stars and a fellowship with the Institute of Electrical and
James Baker-Jarvis, 61, pictured in family photo from a canoe trip, was killed Saturday, Dec. 31, when high winds sent a tree branch through the windshield of his car and into his chest. Baker-Jarvis was a theoretical physicist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. (Photo courtesy Karen Baker-Jarvis) ( Courtesy Karen Baker-Jarvis )
Electronics Engineers. He published more than 50 papers in different physics disciplines, including dielectric and magnetic measurements, microscopic electromagnetics and fracture theory.
"You'd just find things all over the house with equations scribbled on them," she said.
In fact, an algorithm was named for her husband, and he was sometimes approached with reverence at conferences. She said he was a "rock star" in his "tiny niche" of science. However, she added, after 32 years she was still not clear on his work. According to a biography prepared by co-workers, his work "had important applications for the microelectronics, telecommunications and aerospace industries."
She recalled that he loved to work around his house in the hills of Lyons, particularly with his chain saw, and his hands looked more like a plumber's than a scientist's.
Since her husband's death, Karen Baker-Jarvis said, she has fielded hundreds of phone calls and has been overwhelmed by those offering condolences and assistance. The food, alone, has strapped the family's storage capabilities.
Her husband showed no signs of curbing his wanderlust even as he embarked on his 60s. She said he hoped to bike across the country and had talked about taking time off in March to start a trek in San Diego.
Funeral services were held Saturday at Ahlberg Funeral Chapel.
Longmont Ledger (CO)
Date: January 8, 2012
Karen Baker-Jarvis pauses while speaking about her late husband, James Baker-Jarvis, at her home near Lyons on Thursday, Jan. 5. (Richard M. Hackett/Times-Call) ( RICHARD M. HACKETT )
LONGMONT -- Karen Baker-Jarvis kissed her husband on the forehead, told him she loved him, closed the car door, and ran into the road screaming for help Saturday.
Passers-by stopped, including a doctor, but the man who she said spent his life protecting her and their family succumbed to injuries he suffered when high winds sent a tree branch through their car's windshield and into his chest. Though badly injured, he managed to pull over the car and stop it safely.
James "Jim" Baker-Jarvis, 61, is survived by his wife, daughter Aquene and son Duff. The accomplished National Institute of Standards and Technology physicist left behind a large extended family, including nine siblings and their families, and hundreds of friends and co-workers, Karen Baker-Jarvis said.
On Thursday, she displayed photos of her husband spanning 32 years of their marriage, including one of him in his 20s in the 1970s with is long hair held back with a small headband adorned with a feather tucked under it. Other family photos chronicled time spent riding freight trains and sleeping in hammocks suspended in the cars or, perhaps most importantly, the family navigating white-water rapids in canoes. The couple loved white-water canoeing so much that they both became instructors and traveled to white-water spots around the country.
"His whole life was just a wild ride," she said.
Jim Baker and Karen Jarvis met at the University of Minnesota as members of a rovers club that took them on adventures around the world. When they married, they hyphenated their last names, with his first and hers second. Sometimes, she said, his friends would tease him about the apparent break with tradition.
The family moved several times, ultimately landing in Boulder and Lyons. Jim Baker-Jarvis worked at NIST for 22 years, where his efforts earned him prestigious awards, including two NIST bronze stars and a fellowship with the Institute of Electrical and
James Baker-Jarvis, 61, pictured in family photo from a canoe trip, was killed Saturday, Dec. 31, when high winds sent a tree branch through the windshield of his car and into his chest. Baker-Jarvis was a theoretical physicist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. (Photo courtesy Karen Baker-Jarvis) ( Courtesy Karen Baker-Jarvis )
Electronics Engineers. He published more than 50 papers in different physics disciplines, including dielectric and magnetic measurements, microscopic electromagnetics and fracture theory.
"You'd just find things all over the house with equations scribbled on them," she said.
In fact, an algorithm was named for her husband, and he was sometimes approached with reverence at conferences. She said he was a "rock star" in his "tiny niche" of science. However, she added, after 32 years she was still not clear on his work. According to a biography prepared by co-workers, his work "had important applications for the microelectronics, telecommunications and aerospace industries."
She recalled that he loved to work around his house in the hills of Lyons, particularly with his chain saw, and his hands looked more like a plumber's than a scientist's.
Since her husband's death, Karen Baker-Jarvis said, she has fielded hundreds of phone calls and has been overwhelmed by those offering condolences and assistance. The food, alone, has strapped the family's storage capabilities.
Her husband showed no signs of curbing his wanderlust even as he embarked on his 60s. She said he hoped to bike across the country and had talked about taking time off in March to start a trek in San Diego.
Funeral services were held Saturday at Ahlberg Funeral Chapel.
Longmont Ledger (CO)
Date: January 8, 2012
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