James Allen Nikkel was born June 23, 1943, in Salt Lake City, Utah, the oldest of three sons for Edward C. and Alma H (Penner) Nikkel. He was born 6 weeks premature and struggled physically his first few months but made up for it late by becoming a promising baseball pitcher in high school with one of the most wicked curve balls seen in the Shafter, California. He attended Richland School through the eighth grade, then Shafter High School where he graduated in 1961 near the top of his class in academics. He lettered in baseball and took a keen interest in the other major sports. Jim attended Bakersfield College and then fulfilled his dream of going to the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) and completing a bachelor's degree in history in 1965. After graduation, he spent 2 years doing alternative service at Kern View Psychiatric Hospital in Bakersfield where he quickly became one of the most caring and devoted staff members at this Mennonite Mental Health Services inpatient facility. He continued his lifelong devotion to local sports venues, especially whatever team version that the Bakersfield minor league franchise put on the field at Sam Lynn Ballpark. We doubt that he ever missed a televised UCLA football or basketball game through the next 46 years of his life. After fulfilling the terms of his service at Kern View, Jim worked at the B. Dalton Booksellers in Valley River Plaza. This allowed him to combine his passion for reading with talking "books" to literally thousands of Central Valley book shoppers of all ages. He was especially adept at finding and recommending the best books on American history--and, of course, sports publications of all kinds. Jim also had a lifelong interest in good music, whether it was the Kingston Trio, the Brothers Four; musicals like The Sound of Music and Camelot; or the most tasteful of classical music, especially the 9 symphonies of Beethoven. His enthusiasm for and encyclopedic knowledge of these forms of music were passions that he shared liberally with his brothers, cousins, and many friends from the Shafter-Bakersfield community. No account of his life would be complete without mentioning the existential works of Soren Kierkegaard, the Danish theologian. Jim's apartments were rarely without an overflow of these kinds of books and records. He spent many hours in discussion with a variety of friends at Shakey's Pizza in Bakersfield and probably provided more education on philosophy, history and music appreciation to these friends and colleagues than they may have received at nearby Bakersfield College and later Cal State Bakersfield. In mid-life Jim married Roberta and was a warm, caring stepfather to Robert and Lisa for many years. He provided a calm fatherly figure to them during critical phases of their adolescence and young adulthood. During this period of his life, he had gone to work for the Kern County Welfare Department and with his usual consistency, drove the mail truck all over the Southern San Joaquin Valley--Taft, Arvin, Wasco, Shafter and over the hills to Tehachapi. He listened to radio talk shows and became even more knowledgeable about classical music by listening in on KWSO throughout his travels. Jim retired from Kern County in 2008 and continued to live a quiet life of reading and a somewhat more audible life at sporting events. He was beloved by his Penner cousins and his many devoted friends in Bakersfield, all of whom helped sustain him through the last difficult six months of his life. Everyone who met Jim talked of his intellect and broad interests but was most impacted by his warmth and gentle manner. He is survived by his mother, Alma Nikkel and brothers, Donald Ray Nikkel and sister-in-law Carol Enns of Visalia, California, and Robert Edward Nikkel and sister-in-law Gina Firman Nikkel of Wilsonville, Oregon. He is also survived by nephews Christopher Nikkel, Lucas Nikkel and nieces Meredith Nikkel and Jessica Nikkel. A graveside service will be held Friday, May 27 at 2:30 at Shafter Memorial Park followed by a memorial service at 3:30 at Shafter Mennonite Brethren Church, 400 Kern St., for James Allen Nikkel, age 67 who passed away May 25, 2011 in Bakersfield.