Pacific Association loses Jim Vanden Heuvel

Obituary published in the Reno Gazette-Journal on 3/23/2008.

Jim Vanden Heuvel, 52, passed away suddenly March 17, 2008. He was born in Albert Lea, MN on June 29, 1955 to the late Barbara LaPlante DeVaux and Edward Vanden Heuvel. He leaves his wonderful son and best friend, Zachary of Reno, NV who was his everything; sisters, Kim Greenleaf of Lakeland, Fl, Gail Bray of Windsor, CT and Joanne Beaulieu of South Windsor, CT; brothers, Neal DeVaux of South Windsor, CT, and Tm Ron (Skip) DeVaux of Katy, TX; stepfather, Ron DeVaux of Ormond Beach, FL. He will be dearly missed by his eight nieces and nephews, several aunts, uncles, cousins, friends and his devoted Reno family, Jeffrey and Natalie Weitzman and their children Rand, Nanatte and Netanya.

Jim grew up in East Hartford, CT, earned his Bachelor degree from Rutgers University and his MBA from the University of Arizona. He held post graduate certificates from the University of Massachusetts, the University of California and New York University. He spent 27 years in the sports management, sports marketing and event marketing industries.

Jim moved to Reno in 1995 and while he took great pride in his marketing and management career he found his greatest joy in coaching young track and field athletes and giving them the opportunity to showcase their skills. Jim's tireless efforts for the Silver State Games, Nevada Trackfest and the national Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships just to name a few helped hundreds of young athletes perform at the highest level. Jim was most recently coaching the track and field athletes at Bishop Manogue High School.

Jim's other tireless passion was his vision to bring the Olympic Winter Games back to Reno/ Tahoe. At the time of his passing, Jim was serving as the CEO of the Reno Tahoe Winter Games Coalition and the Reno Tahoe International Sports Council. Jim's years of service on numerous United States Olympic National Governing Boards and the many national and international contacts he made have put the region in position to achieve his vision of hosting the Games.

A memorial service is scheduled for this Monday, March 24, 2008 at 3:30 p.m. in the Reno Sparks Convention Center on South Virginia St. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to a scholarship fund set up for Jim's son, Zack Vanden Heuvel. Donations can be made at any branch of First National Bank of Nevada.