James Clark Briegel Jr.

He is survived by caregiver and friend, Jeannette Walker of Pflugerville, TX, daughter and son-in-law Michelle and Andrew Nance of San Marcos, TX, grandchildren Marco and Amelia Nance of San Marcos, TX, sister Joan Wells of Ann Arbor, MI, brother John (and wife Kris) Briegel of Ann Arbor, MI, former spouse Toni Briegel of Las Vegas, NV, step-children Lisa Ducher of Porter, TX, Karl (and wife Zoe) Lewis of Plano, TX, Kirk Lewis of Amarillo, TX; step-grandchildren: Angela, Ashley, Julia, Brittany, and Brandon Lewis; as well as two step-great-grandsons: Brock Lewis and Zachary Palacios. He is also survived by niece Anne (and husband Matt) Steinhauer of Ann Arbor, MI; nephews David (and wife Mary) Wells of Ann Arbor, MI and Will Briegel of Costa Rica; great-nephew and niece Eric and Mia Steinhauer of Ann Arbor, MI.

Jim was born in New Haven, CT to James Clark Briegel Sr. and Virginia Jackson Briegel. He lived in Huntington Woods, MI during his early childhood, and moved to Birmingham, MI at the age of nine where he attended Adams Elementary, Derby Junior High, and graduated from Seaholm High School in 1961. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from The University of Michigan in 1965, where he was known as “The Breegs” by his Delta Tau Delta fraternity brothers. He later earned a Master of Arts in Education from The University of Michigan in 1992 and a Master of Education (Special Education) from the University of Las Vegas-Nevada in 1996.

Jim began his career in retail/sales and insurance in Michigan. He and his first wife, Sharon Briegel (and family), moved to Austin, TX 1976 where he lived until 1990. He found a passion for education later in life and attended graduate school in both Ann Arbor, MI and Las Vegas, NV, where he met his second wife Toni Briegel. He taught elementary and middle school special education in Missouri (1995-2000); and then taught and served as the middle school resource teacher at the American Community School of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates from 2001-2006. Upon his retirement from teaching in the UAE, his supervisor summarized his character as such: “Although a solid classroom practitioner and excellent colleague, I feel that it is Jim’s kind, caring, honest character and wonderful sense of humor that we will miss the most. Jim has the ability to lighten a heavy atmosphere with a clever phrase that sends everyone into riotous laughter or to comfort others with an empathetic, caring ear”.

He retired to Pflugerville, TX in 2006 where he enjoyed regular outings with his grandchildren, keeping up with his favorite sports teams, going to the movies, reading, visiting with his friends at the dialysis center, eating Jeannette’s excellent home-cooking, and working on crossword puzzles.

Jim was a well-traveled, fun-loving man with a big heart. He had many adventures that took him across the U.S.A. and abroad. Although he once told his daughter that his only talent was “playing the radio”, his unique gifts and pastimes included: impersonating famous people with remarkable accuracy, making a “monkey face” to the delight (and bewilderment) of young children, recalling the artist and year of release of all popular music from the 1950s and 1960s, jogging, tennis, sunbathing, dancing, singing in the church choir, engaging in community activism, shopping at garage sales, critiquing movies, and sharing his unique perspective of the world.

A private family service will be held at a future date.

In lieu of flowers, Jim requested that donations be made to:

The American Kidney Fund

11921 Rockville Pike, Suite 300, Rockville, MD 20852

http://www.kidneyfund.org/