Remembering MarketWatch’s Jim Jelter

Shawn Langlois, a markets reporter at MarketWatch.com, writes Thursday about Jim Jelter, his co-worker who died Wednesday at the age of 62.

Langlois writes, “When Jim started his gig in San Francisco, the MarketWatch newsroom couldn’t help but eavesdrop on the phone conversations he fluently conducted in Norwegian. He was probably talking about sailing or carburetors, but we never really knew. It didn’t matter. He just had that rare kind of voice that made you want to listen, even in a language you couldn’t understand.

“Despite his travels, home to Jim was Northern California. And he would eventually return to the place where he first waxed up his surfboard and hitched a ride with the older kids to the coast. In recent years, he would spend his downtime cheering on his San Francisco Giants, working in the yard, cruising his classic MG around Walnut Creek and riding his bike through town.

“Jim was not a complicated man. No surprises. He cherished the simple things. Give him a wrench and a clunky engine, and you might not see him for hours. Days.

“He did, indeed, have a tale for every occasion, whether he chose to share it or not. But if you really wanted to get him talking, all you had to do was mention his wife or kids. A family man in the truest sense. Nothing brought him more joy than watching his boys grow up. He found humor in some of the choices they made, especially when they flew in the face of his pragmatic nature.”

Read more here.