James Robert Eggleston

James Robert Eggleston

Of Deposit, NY

James Robert Eggleston, born July 24, 1958, died October 25, 2023 at the Northeast Center for Special Care, Lake Katine, N.Y.  The son of Ruth V. Eggleston (Strong) and Harold F. Eggleston, he is survived by his mother Ruth Kuhn, of Rotunda West, FL, sister Janice Mapes (Rick) of Stilesville, N.Y., brothers Jerry Eggleston of Lake Placida, FL., John Eggleston of Saratoga Springs, NY, and his beloved daughter Erin E. Eggleston and grandchildren Saige Rowe and Curtis Rowe of Old Forge, N.Y.  He was “Uncle Jimmy” to many nieces and nephews.

Jimmy was full of life and a character, and loved to laugh and find the humor in most things.  He was sweet and kind at heart, but could be a rascal with a tough demeanor to most of the world, and didn’t shy from a fight if it came to that.  He had many wild adventures with his pals growing up, including camping and parties in the woods, riding the roads, and surviving a serious car accident or two and injuries from them.

He loved to fish and hunt, having been brought up with that love of the outdoors.  He loved music, and the 70’s and 80’s were the high point of Southern Rock, and particularly he loved Bluegrass and Country.  He was part of the Rooney Fest from the beginning and like many in Deposit that was an annual high-point of village life all those years.

Jimmy was a skilled craftsman with a gift in building things from his imagination.  He studied plans and built his own banjo by hand with simple tools, which he self-taught to play.  He could play along with and sing his favorite tunes.

Jimmy faced down his young years of alcohol abuse and went into treatment in 1982, and was committed to recovery for the remainder of his life.  He is credited by many in the community for his compassionate intervention and unwavering support to those who fought the same battles with alcohol.  He abstained from alcohol for the remainder of his life, and sought out and stood-by those who were struggling with recovery.

He was the proud father of Erin E. Eggleston, born in 1983, with Sherry White, and adored his daughter.  Following a day of hunting with his father Harold in Windsor NY, in 1985, he drove himself home and lost control of the car and struck a tree.  He suffered a traumatic brain injury, from which he spent the rest of his life recovering.  His personality was intact, but he faced tremendous challenges physically.  He lived his best life in facility care, and was a prominent character in the population of whatever facility to which he transitioned. He suffered a series of set-backs in the last several months characteristic of the long term prognosis of his brain injury.  Jimmy left us peacefully in the early morning hours of October 25.  His daughter Erin had spent the previous day with him and got the word before her return to his side that morning.

He made his mark on the community he loved in his early life, and the regard and affection of his many friends has endured all these years later.

Services will be held on Friday, November 3, 2023, at Noon at Hennessey’s Funeral Home, 78 Second St. Deposit, NY, at Noon followed by interment at Walton Cemetery, Walton, NY.