Jim Babbitt

Friends of Flagstaff’s Future is deeply saddened by the loss of Jim Babbitt, one of the founding members of the organization and a member of our formal Advisory Board. Jim’s passion for Flagstaff and his understanding of the how and why of past community decisions  were integral to helping F3 understand and respond to local issues during the first 10 years of the organization’s existence. Nat White, of F3’s Advisory Board, described Jim as a quiet friend who understood the importance of Flagstaff’s history and strived to maintain the quality and character of the social and built environment in both word and deed. 

Jim was known as a generous man, both with resources, and with his time and insight. Becky Daggett, former Executive Director of F3 said, “I can’t count how many cups of coffee we drank while talking about current and past events.” F3 has had offices all over Flagstaff in the last 25-plus years and one of them was space in the back of Babbitt’s Flyfishing store, donated by Jim. That store is now the Sweet Shoppe candy store across from Heritage Square.

Daggett has a favorite memory of Jim that she recounted to F3 recently: “One year, I decided that F3 should host an Annual Meeting and invite our members to hear updates about our work and share food. The organization had no money, so Jim offered to let us host it after hours in Babbitt’s Backcountry Outfitters. It snowed all day and night of the event and I was an emotional wreck, sure that nobody would attend. We moved all the merchandise racks out to the walls and set up food in the middle. So many people came out despite the heavy snow and we celebrated in his store downtown with all the lights outside shining on the snow.”

Jim was not only a friend and advisor but a fearless opponent of anything that degraded the quality of life in Flagstaff. He argued against the idea that development and progress are the same thing. Jim knew that development is not inevitable but a choice often made without sufficient regard for its impact on the community as a whole. He epitomized what it means to care for community, now and into the future. For Jim, community was something to be cherished and nourished. He gave us the gift of his stewardship and we will miss him greatly.

Michele James

Executive Director