It is with great sadness, once again, that I have to report the passing of Jim Maxfield at the age of 82. Jim sadly died on his birthday.
Jim was born in Skipton and lived locally for most of his years in the parishes of Burnsall, Hebden and Grassington; he had also strayed to Adel, Burley in Wharfedale and London. He was a magnificent supporter of the Club, and still is!
Jim was captain of the third team as well as being a sponsor, and more recently the sponsorship secretary.
Wharfedale meant so much to Jim and he frequently expressed the unique core values of the Club. Every memory was green.
Jim occupied the scoreboard corner or the shed for his valuable position as a spectator in the company of Chris Baker and Scriv and he even refereed from there!
He was a welcome part of the club chorus at away matches and travelled long distances with the Burnsall and Hartlington lobby.
Jim‘s trips to Ireland , to watch England, were legendary. He took a while to settle in to a pint of Guinness for breakfast, and sometimes only rented it for a limited period. However, he became accustomed to local habits and soon defeated any hesitation.
At one of the warm up matches this season, a supporter approached me and said, “ Has anybody seen my old friend, Jim?” I was tempted to say, “ I thought I saw him walking over the hill with Chris and Martin and Tom.
We will surely miss this dapper man – a man of kindness, compassion and impeccable manners and we will certainly raise a glass or two – maybe containing Guinness. Jim is survived by his wife, Brenda and his son, James.
John Spencer