Jim Havey
1949 - 2024
James Thomas Havey died peacefully, surrounded by his wife and children at 2:26 pm on Friday, January 19th from complications related to Alzheimer’s and Lewy Body dementia. He was 74 years old.
Jim grew up on the South Side of Chicago, one of seven siblings, and a born rebel. Eager to chart his own course in life, he moved West, settling in Colorado. He fell in with a group of kindred spirits that became known as the Bad Boys. Intent on living life to the fullest, they bagged 14’ers, explored remote 4WD roads, and debated philosophy and religion over beer, whiskey, and other things, as they camped under the stars.
Jim first picked up a camera in those years and fell in love with both photography, and Charlotte, who would become his wife of 44 years. On March 2nd, 1979, he opened Havey Productions and was soon a prominent artist known for architectural photography and portraiture. But it was in multi-image presentations, and eventually film, that Jim found his niche.
From corporate presentations and capital campaigns to historical documentaries, Jim’s love of beautiful images, powerful music, and compelling people combined to create emotionally rich films that continue to inform and inspire. For Jim, a day in the office might include standing in the Monet pond at the Denver Botanic Gardens in thigh high waders to create the perfect shot of a water lily, or hanging out of a helicopter 100 feet above the Wyoming wilderness to focus his long lens on a huge bull moose in the lake below.
Jim’s career spanned the technological evolution from rolls of film and slide projectors to SD cards and streaming video. Along the way, he became known as the “Ken Burns of Colorado”, as he and his intern-turned-23-year-business-partner, Nathan Church, made scores of films - including major documentaries Colfax Avenue, Union Station, Downtown Denver, Centennial Statehouse, and The Great Divide, his favorite. Jim worked best under pressure and, mostly unbeknownst to the hundreds of people who turned up for his premieres, he often finished films mere hours before showtime. Once, he loaded slides to end a film, even after the projector had begun playing the beginning. Awards for these films were numerous and include three Heartland Emmys.
At home, Jim was an excellent husband and father. Except for on Christmas morning, when his insistence on perfect lighting and camera angles severely strained the patience of his wife and children. Values like patience, generosity, hard work, flexibility, and the artist’s attention to detail taught his children, Nathan and Alysha, to make their way in the world. Eventually they both followed in his footsteps, making films at his company, now called HaveyPro Cinema.
In the 2000’s, a successful career afforded Jim and Charlotte the ability to fulfill their shared dream of building a home in the mountains of Southern Colorado. This retreat, complete with a dimmer on every light switch, created the perfect setting to host family, friends, children-in-law and eventually grandchildren in a showcase of Jim’s obsession with aesthetics and ambiance, nestled in the dramatic landscape he loved so much.
Those who knew Jim enjoyed a palpable, glowing warmth in his presence, and an irreverent sense of humor that was always at the ready. Jim was a friend and mentor to many who will not soon forget the impact he had on their lives.
Jim retired on April 6, 2023 at the premiere of his final film, The Five States of Colorado. His decline was shocking and quick, but his extended family and lifelong friends were afforded a few more sweet moments to say goodbye.
Jim Havey left this world a little better than he found it and his rich life will be honored at a ceremony open to all on February 10th from 10 am to 12 pm in Mitchell Hall at the Denver Botanic Gardens.
Make a Donation In Honor of Jim
In lieu of flowers, the family asks those with specific memories of Jim to write them down and email them to alysha@haveypro.com for possible inclusion in a book of his life’s work. At the time of Jim's death, he and the team were working on a film about Rocky Flats. If so moved, donations to help complete Jim's final project can be made through the International Documentary Association.
Celebration of Life
February 10th, 2024 at February 10th
Mitchell Hall at the Denver Botanic Gardens
10 AM - 12 PM
1007 York St
Denver, CO 80206
Photo Gallery
