A note from Paul Ziolkowski on behalf of Fort Wilderness:
It is with a heavy heart that I write to inform you that Jim Fleming has “passed on to be with Jesus”. He didn’t want us to say that he “passed away”, he wanted people to know that he was going somewhere, that he was going to be with his Savior.
Jim was on staff from 1996 to 2017 as a part of the Operations Team at Fort and continued to volunteer in retirement.
Working for the Lord
If you have enjoyed time at camp since 1996 you have been affected by something that Jim did. I will not attempt to list all the Fort improvements he played a part in, first because the list would be too long and more importantly because that’s not why Jim did them.
Colossians 3:23 tells us that in “whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men”
The majority of what Jim worked on is either hidden inside walls, buried underground or tucked away in mechanical rooms that virtually no one sees. That didn’t matter to Jim because he was working for the Lord. His work was done to the best of his abilities whether somebody would see it or not.
Jim made sure the Operations Team understood that we weren’t just building and maintaining stuff, we were building and maintaining tools of ministry. It was Jim’s desire to remove as many distractions as possible so that those coming to Fort would be able to focus on what God had for them during their time here.
Jim didn’t like to be up in front of crowds with everyone looking at him, he preferred to have a conversation with people while he was quietly doing a necessary task around camp.
A Love for the Outdoors
Jim loved to get people outdoors, two ways he enjoyed accomplishing this was by giving rides in the “Deuce” Fort’s large army truck and cooking “Lumberjacks” breakfast served at Cranberry Point.
His life was an example to all of us here at Fort of what it looked like to be a faithful follower of Jesus Christ. I am blessed to have served alongside him and to have called him my friend.
Join us as we celebrate his life and in praying for the Fleming family and friends in their grief. Obituary and memorial service arrangements can be found here.
On behalf of the Fort Team,
Paul Ziolkowski
