Obituary of James Whittome

James Whittome (Jim) passed away at his Santa Cruz home after a long battle with cancer on Oct. 7, 2012. Jim was born in Thorney, England, where he grew up and attended Kimbolton School from 1939 to 1948. Following 2 years in the British Army, he attended Birmingham University where he received his Bachelor's Degree in Physics. Jim worked in London in sales until he immigrated to Toronto, Canada, with his wife Mollie in 1957. He worked in sales for Vickers Instruments and later transferred to Edmonton, Boston, Chicago, and Los Gatos, CA. He left Vickers in 1984 and started his own company, Labtek, which he left to his son, Stephen, in 2000 and then retired. He enjoyed raising sheep and other animals at his Vine Hill home for over 20 years. He was a longtime member of The Episcopal Church of St. John in Aptos. Jim is survived by his two sons, Stephen (Joyce) and Michael (Pranee) Whittome, his 2 grandchildren, Andrew and Matthew, all of Scotts Valley, and his dear friend & companion Anne Sherwood of Aptos. He is preceded in death by his wife Mollie who passed away in 1992, and his second wife Wanda Santos who passed away in 2003. A memorial service will be held at The Episcopal Church of St. John the Baptist, 125 Canterbury Drive, Aptos, CA 95003, on Nov. 10th, at 11:00 am. Contributions can be sent to The Episcopal Church of St. John or to the UCSC Arboretum, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA.