JAMESTOWN-- The University of Jamestown athletic department lost perhaps its biggest fan as Jim Christ passed away Monday.

Christ, 68, died at Sanford Medical Center in Fargo from double pneumonia. A celebration of his life will be held Saturday at Jamestown High School's Jerry Meyer Arena at 10:00 a.m.

Born with cerebral palsy, Christ never used his disability as an excuse for getting out and attending nearly every local sporting event. He attended thousands of games over the years.

In addition to his love of the local teams, Christ was an avid Minnesota Twins fan and had an impressive collection of Darin Erstad memorabilia. One of his favorite memories was helping throw out the first pitch at a Twins game.

"I gave him many rides to and from the Civic Center for basketball games," said Jimmie women's track and field associate head coach Jim Clark. "He was pretty particular about the process to get him loaded and unloaded – from how to set the brakes on the wheelchair, where to grab him to how to lift to get him into the easiest position, what to do with his jacket and gloves. He had to teach this procedure to a lot of people who helped him."

"Jim had the numbers of the taxi service, the transit service, and I think even the police in case he needed a ride home from a game," Clark continued. "He was really concerned when an event went late and exceeded the hours of the transit bus and I got the call a few times. I am sure a lot of others did, too."

A day at Jack Brown Stadium was one of Jim's favorite activities. Often times arriving at the ballpark before the teams would, Christ would begin on the east side of the backstop, moving progressively to the west side as the sun made its way across the sky.

Steve Linzmeier, the radio voice of the Jimmies and Blue Jays on ESPN Jamestown, also pointed out Christ's unwavering support of the Jamestown teams.

"Jim is a special part of the Jamestown sports community," Linzmeier said. "If you ever wore a Blue Jay or Jimmie uniform, he was undoubtedly your biggest fan. I'm going to miss walking into events and not getting a fist bump from Jim and hearing that signature laugh."