James V Pfaff, 71, of Shippenville, after an unfinished life, passed as he lived, peacefully, gracefully, gentlemanly and surrounded by love on March 18th, 2024 at home, following a long and valiant battle with cancer.

In 2016 he was diagnosed with a non Hodgkin's lymphoma and underwent a subsequent and successful stem cell transplant. Then in the fall of 2023 was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, unrelated to the lymphoma, from which he succumbed.

Adopted the day of his birth Friday, March 13, 1953, by the late Paul J and Margaret A (Lauffer) Pfaff of Shippenville, PA, Jim could always be found with a smile on his face, and even though he didn't want to leave us, he did so with a smile, and a promise to drop by with a feather or two just to let us know he's keeping an eye on us!

He graduated in 1971 from Keystone Jr-Sr. High School. Following his graduation from DuBois tech school in December of 1971, he worked as an Industrial electrician until his retirement in 2004, with the last 32 of those years at Con-Air, Inc in Franklin, PA, from where he retired.

In the spring of 1975 while learning to scuba dive, he met his lifelong love and soul mate, Kimberly A Carroll. They were married on October 9, 1976 and celebrated their 47th anniversary this past October. Rarely were they found one without the other. They did everything together as a team, most of the time while holding hands. Where one was, the other was never far away.

For Jim, life was something to be experienced, not just lived.

During his lifetime, he enjoyed traveling both here in the states, and abroad, his favorite being the highlands of Scotland. Metal detecting and searching for that elusive meteorite or treasure ranked right up there, as well as star gazing with Kim into the wee hours of the morning and fishing for the one that got away. He was especially proud of his yard, garden, and orchard, and very much enjoyed sharing , the many fresh fruits and vegetables they produced. Any nice sunny day Jim could be found at "the farm" either mowing the fields with his old 1950 tractor, or cutting firewood for the sheer enjoyment of it.

Jim could build, invent, and fix anything, was always ready with a helping hand and that infectious smile, all the while having the patience of Job.

He thoroughly enjoyed history, listening to the old stories of days gone by, and was always ready to metal detect with Carolynn, his daughter and metal detecting buddy.

Jim was very observant, and keen to the feelings of others; a true gentleman of the first order, making those around him feel comfortable, no matter the situation. He could often be heard using the quote:

"Death smiles at us all. All a man can do is smile back." …reminding us that everyone passes away at some point in their earthly life, so make it a good life!

He was a lifetime member of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Shippenville, and held the position of vice president of Shippen Cemetery Association for many years, a position that had been passed onto him by his father, Paul.

In addition to his wife, Kim, Jim leaves behind two children; a daughter, Carolynn (Terry Jr.) Thompson of Knox, and a son, Jason Pfaff (Jennifer) of Shippenville; and five grandchildren: Patrick, Alexis, and Kolton Thompson, all of Knox, and Emily and Natalie Pfaff of Shippenville.

Jim is also survived by his half brothers Mark (Tricia) Shingledecker of Clarion, Art (Kim) Shingledecker of Sligo; and a half sister Julie (David) Katis of Clarion; a brother in law Pat (Shirley) Carroll II of Lucinda, as well as several nieces and nephews, great nieces and great nephews and many wonderful family, friends and acquaintances.

He was proceeded in death by his parents, Paul and Margaret Pfaff; his adopted brother Mark A Pfaff; his biological mother Ruthie McMillen Shingledecker; and his father and mother- in-law Patrick A. and Bonnie Carroll.

Family and friends will be received at Goble Funeral Home, 330 Wood Street, Clarion, PA from 2pm to 4pm and 6pm to 8pm on Thursday, March 21, 2024. An additional visitation will be held on Friday, March 22, 2024 from 10am to 11am. A funeral service will immediately follow at 11am in the funeral home with Ed Yount officiating. Jim will be laid to rest at Pleasant Hill Cemetery, Shippenville, Pa.

The family would like to thank the Clarion Cancer Center team, and the Clarion Forest VNA, and Clarion-Forest VNA Hospice, but above all Dr. Cyrus Khan and the cancer team at West Penn Hospital in Pittsburgh, for their selfless dedicated service, before, during, and after stem cell transplant, and beyond; as well as our wonderful stem cell donor, JHD of Sacramento, California.

Memorial donations may be made in Jim's name to: The Clarion Cancer Center at 150 Doctors Lane, Suite 1, Clarion, Pa 16214; The Clarion-Forest VNA/Clarion-Forest VNA Hospice at 271 Perkins Road, Clarion, PA.; or Shippen Cemetery Assoc. at 8615 Route 322, Shippenville, Pa. 16254.

Friends and family may send online condolences, order flowers and memorials, and obtain additional information by visiting www.goblefh.net.