Thurston James passed away Friday, August 27, 2005, near his home in Sherman Oaks, California. He was in the process of mailing the latest issue of The James-Younger Gang Journal which he published. The cause of death presently is unknown. Thurston will be interred at Rose Hills Cemetery, Whittier, California, next week. There are no known plans of other funeral arrangements pending.

Email expressions of sympathy may be posted to
ericjames@ericjames.org
where they will be copied and sent to his family.

He was born in Lawrence, KS in 1933. Thurston crafted a career for himself in the movie industry in Hollywood as a designer and maker of props and masks for films. He authored several books. Among them are "Prop Builder's Molding & Casting Handbook," "The What, Where, When of Theatre Props: An Illustrated Chronology from Arrowheads to Video Games," and "The Theatre Props Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide to Theatre Properties, Materials, & Construction."

For years Thurston affectionately played Santa Claus at the Sherman Oaks Galleria in Sherman Oaks, California, where he fell into the affections of many toddlers who today are adults. Having a tin ear did not stop him from singing or making music. Last Christmas he sent out his Christmas Greeting called "Christmas Rap," featuring himself as a rapping Santa.
http://www.ericjames.org/Christmas/2004/
His songs included nursery rhymes and "The Ballad of Jesse James."

Thurston will be remembered as the most kind, most gentle, most considerate, and most loving of all the Jesse James family.