Lastly Legacy
 

Although I did not even know him, I think of all the memories my family and I have made on our boat, and I can't help but be grateful for his life's legacy and it's impact on so many lives across the globe.

Thanks Jimmy!

Jimmy touched so many lives with his creation of and dedication to, Mariah boats. I know that my father and I have spent thousands of hours together around our Mariah, only to strengthen our relationship. This connection to our Mariah made me feel as though i knew Jimmy and had a good sense of the man he was. Both my father and I are perfectionists at heart and always comment on the details we discover on our Mariah. It always gives us a great feeling knowing that the man who created this boat felt the same care and passion for it that the both of us do.

Some of you know, and some of you don't know, that i'm a 20 year old college student and many of you probably wonder "what's he doing running a boat owners club?" From the day my father brought home our Mariah, i absolutely fell in love with this boat and i'm grateful for the joy it has brought my family and I. When i discovered the opportunity to help spread this same joy and bring people that have this same passion together, i jumped at the chance. You all know where it went from there, but here's some background that helps explain me and why I take so much pride in Mariahs and what Jimmy Fulks stood for.

My father owned Bayliners and a Hobie Cat back before i was born, and even built a boat with his father when he was my age. Thus, the passion for boats has existed for a long time in my family and was imparted on me at an early age. My father sold his Bayliner when he started a family, but always wanted to own another boat when my brother and i were old enough to really enjoy it. When i was 13, my brother, my father and I took a "boys weekend" with some friends over to Moses Lake, WA. When we saw the Mariah boats on the lake, we all fell in love with them and my father decided that the family boat would one day be a Mariah. 3 years later, i came home after a 5 week summer job to find our 2001 252 Shabah sitting in our driveway that my dad purchased a few days prior. This was the beginning of the enjoyment my father and i get from our Mariah and it has only grown as each season comes and goes.

Our Mariah has brought our family and friends closer together and we spend the off season talking about our plans with the boat in the summer. To the outsider, it would seem extreme to attribute this joy to a simple machine, but a Mariah boat is so much more. It's only fitting that the passion Jimmy put into these boats is felt by the owners as well and i can surely say that in the 9 months this club has been open, it's clear to me that ALL Mariah owners have this same passion. For these experiences Jimmy, i thank you.

When this club first opened it's doors, Chris commented to me that "in no time we'll be flying down to Florida to interview Jimmy Fulks!" We both laughed and thought that if we had that opportunity, that would be the culmination of our efforts and the payoff in creating this site. To meet and converse with the man whose life was dedicated to building these gorgeous machines was always on my mind as i watched this site continue to grow. When I got the email from Chris in early April informing me that Jimmy had contacted him, the subject of the email was "you will never believe this" and it's true, i didn't. My jaw dropped when i read the email and i thought "nah, there's no way". As emails continued to come in, it was confirmed that we were in fact exchanging emails with the Jimmy Fulks. The experience only got better when Jimmy sent us over 150 photos of his childhood, Mariah Boats Inc, and his life experiences. On top of that, the biography that he took so much time and effort to write just for us captured me. His line in the first paragraph read "I tend to over-do most everything, have all my life;" This statement stands as a testament to the man Jimmy was.

A few weeks later, Chris informed me of the passing of Jimmy and once again, my jaw dropped. I couldn't believe that the experience of conversing with Jimmy had been cut so short. It felt as though one day we were talking with him, and the next day he was gone. While i didn't know Jimmy personally, his passing hit me with quite a shock as i felt a connection to him given the past 9 months of building this club and the joy i have always gotten from the boat he built.

When i informed my father of Jimmy's passing, he was of course surprised. He left me with the thought that our contact with Jimmy was meant to be and that he left this world knowing his legacy would survive and that he had accomplished his dream not only in building a beautiful boat, but knowing that his customers shared the same passion that he had. That Jimmy Fulks felt that Chris and I were doing an excellent job with this site and wanted to do all that he could to help make it even better touches my heart and is reward in itself for the thousands of hours spent building this site.

From my family to the Fulks family, our deepest condolences go out to you.

Jimmy, you will truly be missed, but never forgotten. You're legacy will survive and the same passion you once had thrives in the customers whose lives you've touched.

Rest in peace Jimmy.

Thanks for sharing your story. That was very well said and very touching. I am looking forward to seeing the pictures and reading Jimmy's autobiography.

Thanks for putting this site together for all of us to share and enjoy. This site is something you should be very proud of. This is the first place I come to when I get home each evening. I think it this site is what boating is all about friendship and helping others.

Jimmy should have felt very good about what he accomplished in Mariah boat This site is a testimonial to his legacy.

Very sad at age 59. It is a great thing that he was able to see the impact he had all over with his work in the industry thorugh this site.

Indeed !!!! that is very very very sad.:shakehead:

you will truly be missed.

My condolences go out to the Fulks family and the many boating friends that Jimmy leaves behind. He has left a wonderful legacy of an amazing and dependable boat product that has forever changed boating to what it is today

michael van praag

From The Netherlands
Amsterdam

Both Chris and Ryan can be truly applauded for their incredible work and dedication to this wonderful site.
Jimmy Fulks would surely have been proud of both of you for your love of Mariahs to start a forum such as this, and this was proved by him contacting you Chirs.
What an honour to be talking to this great man on a one on one basis, purely because of you starting this forum, amazing.
Congratulations to both of you for your touching thoughts and sending the family that beautiful floral arrangement on behalf of all of us - thankyou.
Our sincere condolences from my family goes to the Fulks family. R.I.P.

I got back from vacation and found this post. I am greatly saddened to here this news. It made me sit back for a moment and think of all the hours of laughter and smiles spent with family and friends over the last ten years on my Mariah’s and many to come. I also thought of the thousands and thousands of hours that add up for all of the Mariah owners and I am amazed how one man can touch so many lives. Even now I am making friendships with people all over the world on this site dedicated to Mariah owners, on an internet that didn’t exist the way it is now, when this man started his dream.

I wish to send my and my family’s condolences to the family and friends of Jimmy Fulks.
I am thankful that he had a dream to produce, in a small rural town in Illinois, a boat equipped like no other boat in the world

My condolences to the Fulks family. Jimmy Fulks, the visionary, the innovator, the passionate one, the creator, of beautifully designed Mariah, where the classic lines and performance hulls look as good today as the day they were first created and still being made today. A true testament to Jimmy Fulks and Mariah Boats.

I was deeply saddend when I read the news of Jimmy passing.I had the pleasure of working with Jimmy on many occations when I was employed at Mariah Boats.I was in the Prototype Department and sometimes worked with him directly,when he would come back personally to work with me on a new model,telling me how he wanted something changed,or to figure how to make something fit the best way.I was not even a superviser.He was a regular guy with a dream to build you the best boat he could,and I'm sure he would have been friends with all of you!

This site is wonderful,and I am sure Jimmy was proud when he read all of the praises of his product you have wrote.I know I am and I had only a small part for a short time in it!

My condolences to the Fulks family.Jimmy will be missed.I am honered to have known him,and proud to have worked for him!

Jeff Snoddy

Marion Il

Mariah employee 1992 to 1995

Jimmy's son thanks you
 

I am not sure what to say. Thank you all so much! Not sure exactly how to explain the feeling I got while reading this. While you are all honoring my Father, you've done something unexpected for me and I am sure the same for the rest of my family.

I am personally am not into boats that much, maybe I am jealous of them. My Dad dedicated his life to the industry. This success allowed him to do amazing things for his family and countless others(paying for employees children's college, medical bills, helping with whatever disaster was in their lives, his friends and whatever causes they dedicated themselves to,etc).

Dad wanted the best for us and worked for it, because of the way he grew-up he never wanted us to have to go through that. Personally, I think he overshot the mark and could have worked alittle less. You see, your Mariah Boat has "alittle" of my time in it, so reading comments through out this site let me know that time had value and that means alot. So your boat helped him do all these great things and the spirit of his family in them.

Dad was impressed with the site and he did send us emails about his dealing with you all. Thanks for the joy it gave him.

Thank you
Jason Fulks

ps..My Brother is the knowledgable one on the subject of boats, but I am happy to help with any history involving my Father.