A Funeral Mass Eulogy to our brother, James Volland, March 19, 2004; St. Rene Goupil Roman Catholic Church.

Michele:

You have all seen the pictures from my brothers’ life. Many of you are in those photos; family, friends, and of course, his dogs. But a person’s life is not just about photo memories; it is also about stories, anecdotes and even the legends that surround him. And my brother certainly had all of those – stories, anecdotes and the legend of James Volland.

I was 7½ years old when my brother was born. I always wanted another sister; someone to play dress-up with - but I got Jimmy instead. He was so cute; I decided we could keep him.

When Jimmy was young, he was so very shy. Even though he was shy, he loved guns, weapons, and if you can believe it - trains of all things. Even as his house backed up to the tracks, our house on Melvina was adjacent to the railroad as we grew up. Every evening of the summer before his first year of school, Jimmy would rotate from brother to sister, waking each of us up to ask if tomorrow was the first day of school. When I answered him that he was off the hook, that tomorrow was not his first day of school; he commented that he heard a train. “Let’s have some cookies and milk and watch the train?” he would ask. Although I was exhausted, it was our special “thing” that summer. As much as I hated him waking me up, I realized I was a trusted friend. Even in the silence of watching the train slowly go by, sometimes even stopping, my brother and I forged a bond that lasted a lifetime. Many of you know of my brothers “look” when he pauses and reads you. That was the summer he developed that talent.

Did you know my brother was a “moon shiner”? Among my brothers’ early experiments, he took to trying to make homemade brew. While I am certain that there are dozens of experiments that we don’t know about, my mother and I were the surprised discoverer of Jimmy’s lab experiment when it exploded in our pantry. Sour mash was all over the floor. Who knows, instead of Jack Daniel's, we could have all been drinking Jimmy’s Brew?

Jimmy’s interests growing up were eclectic. All of us that grew up in the house with him can also relate to his interest in the martial arts, specifically Karate. For months, he went to lessons, and he would then come home and each of us in turn became unwitting, and many times unwilling, practice kick bags.

In the late 70’s when the movie “Amityville Horror” came out, Jimmy, always the prankster, got two red flashlights and stood outside my bedroom window and shined them in. You can imagine my reaction. In another one of his antics, he would repeatedly hide under my bed and wait for me to come in and get ready for bed. Once again, you can imagine my reaction as I heard shuffles and noises from under my bed as I was just drifting off …

As we all grew up, it was clear that Jimmy was very smart; he became very health conscious and had us all drinking vitamin shakes and trying to get us to work out. From the time he could drink from a cup, Jimmy had his nephew Michael drinking protein shakes. I always thought my brother should have become a nutritionist or doctor. I will always wrestle with the sad irony that he knew so very, very much about human physiology and health.

How many of you ever received advice from Jimmy? As my little brother grew up, he became stronger in his opinions and his ability to help friends with problems whether they were legal, medical, or life. My brother was a doctor, a lawyer and an Indian Chief all rolled into one.

Many of you know that my brother tended to be hard to read. But don’t be deceived – as much as Jimmy appeared to us to be disinterested, he had a strong circle of friends that would think nothing of coming over and spending an evening watching television and talking. Many of you are here today, and could probably share stories. The reality is that while my brother was never comfortable in front of or with large crowds, one-on-one, you always had his full, complete and undivided attention. He could make you feel special and often revealed to you the obvious as you confided your thoughts and concerns. Simply crystallizing those facts in a way that you could act on them and feel cared for in his revealing his thoughts to you was his gift to all of us. This is the talent from which the legend of my brothers’ insight, the legend of my brothers caring, and the legend of Jimmy Volland emerged.

Johnny:

My brother Jimmy was the greatest brother a man could ever have. He was funny, quick witted and the first to apologize if he said something wrong. He was a Chicago policeman who loved his job; he was the best marksman in his class. In 1990, Jimmy was honored with an award for his skill and marksmanship.

My brother saved his partners’ life once while apprehending a bank robber. For his bravery and calm under pressure, Jimmy was honored with the medal of valor from the Chicago Police department.

As my older sister mentioned, Jimmy had strong opinions. While he did not necessarily agree with everything the police department stood for, he respected his friends, his partners, and the job.

My brother loved science and as a kid would use my chemistry set for experiments that sometimes would stink up the entire house, my mother loved that! He loved nature; was a certified scuba diver, a rock climber, and a bodybuilder.

Jimmy loved his dogs, as they were his children. My brother should have been a veterinarian! He studied with our sister Madonna who is a pharmacist; Jimmy knew a lot about medicine and good health.

My brother was Godfather to my son Zachary for his Baptism; I will never forget how honored he felt or how much he loved my son. Jimmy was a very proud Uncle.

Jimmy was very disciplined in taking care of himself, but as a homeowner I would have to say I was Felix and he was Oscar. Many times he would tease me about being so clean and quiz me about what was on the second shelf of my kitchen cabinet next to my laxatives! He thought that was funny. The sad truth is that I could tell him.

Did you know that Jimmy was a house painter? For the past 10 years, he would go to Home Depot, buy paint, and then invite me over to help him paint. It went something like this: I painted and Jimmy held the ladder.

I cherished our relationship, my brother and all that he did with me and for me will forever be in my heart.

Madonna:

When my parents brought me home from the hospital, Jimmy wanted to send me back because I could not talk. As it turned out, it did not matter because I nor anyone else could get a word in edgewise once Jimmy started talking.

My brother was a man of wisdom and very philosophical, and he made you listen to what he had to say. After he finally stopped talking he really made you think even though it had nothing to do with your original conversation.

Jimmy always joked with me that when I fell on head the week before HS, that’s when I became smart. Even though I helped Jimmy with his homework in high school, he helped me with my studies in Pharmacy school. I always wondered if I would ever know the material as well as he did and up until this day I always asked him questions about vitamins.

As many of you know Jimmy called me Chuck, which is an abridged version, and my brother Johnny called me Roy. I always felt they wanted me to be a brother. Although I have many nicknames, I know these nicknames are better then all the rest.

As we grew up Jimmy and I may have had our differences but we always came to an understanding. Usually it was over a meal. We both have no problem in that department. Except I could not eat 8-10 times a day

No matter what happened in my life, my brother Jimmy took care of me. Jimmy was and always will be my protector. He may have been my older brother but to me he will always be my “little” brother and my best friend!