"You better come on in my kitchen, babe, it going to be raining outdoors..."

In Memoriam... James A. Miley, 1952-2008

The St. Marys music community suddenly lost a dear friend on May 23, 2008, when Jim Miley was taken without warning by cardiac arrest while relaxing at home.

Jim played bass in many local bands throughout the years, including Wild Hearts, Crossroads and most recently Back Beat Blues, as a member of which Jim competed in the Riverside Bluesfest 2008 Blues Challenge (photo) just five weeks prior to his death.

Jim was an early and enthusiastic volunteer in the St. Marys Blues Guild from the group's very first organizational meeting on. His death shocked all of us, but none so much as the loving family who survived him: his wife Cheryl and her mother, his parents and two brothers, and his four children and ten grandchildren.

Jim Miley, gone to his reward at age 56, may he rest in music.