Sad News for Mariah Owners
 

Last Saturday, April 19th, the world lost one of the most important people associated with the Mariah name. Jimmy Fulks, the creator, the man behind the Mariah brand died unexpectedly at the age of 59 in his Florida home.

I hate to keep secrets from everyone, so I'll let you in on a few things.

First off, out of respect for the family, I waited to break the news until after the burial ceremony and after I received word from his family that it was OK to publish.

Secondly, I had been communicating with Jimmy personally for the last two weeks of his life. I received an email one day regarding some content on the site and how a few things should be corrected. Jimmy had actually been a member on the site! He was amazed that there was such a strong following for his boats, despite the many years that had passed. He told me this on many occasions. He appreciated all the kind words, expressed his approval, and wished all the members of the club his best wishes.

Jimmy emailed some very valuable information to me, including a very touching autobiography, hundreds of personal photos, newspaper articles, business documents, five dvd videos, and many other pieces of inside information which I will begin to share shortly.

In the few weeks I had known Jimmy, I will tell you he was the most caring, devoted and dedicated person I've ever met. Even though I never had a chance to meet him personally, he made me feel like I had been friends with him for years. He was that great of a person. While it's extremely sad, it's also very comforting to know during his last weeks, he was able to see how much he meant to our community, and to know that his hard work and dedication is appreciated by so many people. He will truly be missed.

On behalf of the club, Ryan and I sent a floral arrangement, which you will see pictured at the bottom. His obituary is also included. If there is a charity established in Jimmy's name, I will pass that information along for those who wish to donate.

I remain in contact with his son Rance, who was the Executive Vice President of Mariah Boats Inc., and he has offered to help in whatever way he can. So if you have any questions you'd like answered, get them to me and I will pass them on. However, please be understanding of the circumstances. These are hard times for the family.

Jimmy J. Fulks
March 1, 1949 - April 19, 2008

That is really sad news, my heart goes out to his family and I am sure that everyone else on the forum feels the same way. That is a great loss to the family and to the boating community aswell. :(:(:(:(

Chris - that is a beautiful floral arrangement.

Thanks for sharing the sad news. Few people in the world have an opportunity to leave behind a legacy (other than their children) and I hope his family has peace knowing that he built and incredible company and a product that brings joy to mahy to this day.

He touched everyone on this board lives through his work with Mariah boats. He will be missed. This is truly sad news indeed.

Very sad news and only 59 yrs old. :( We will have to 'retire' his member name.

We all(and I'm sure I speak for everyone on the forum)extend our deepest sympothy's to the Fulks family.Jimmys legacy will be his family and friends first,followed by the beautiful creations of the Mariah.Rest in peace my friend.....LJ

Wow. Thank you for informing us about the loss of Mr. Fulks Chris.

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.

This thread should be renamed as a memorial and stickified.


R.I.P Jimmy - Now you are free to drop the hammer on your boats in the sky!

That is very sad news indeed. Condolences to all who were close to him.

I'm sure he was impressed with the efforts of our Admins, as we all should be, for creating a place where Mr Fulks legacy can be immortalized.

My condolences to the family. I really wish we could have known more about the guy. Passed at the early age of 59 and he covered so much ground. He had to have launched Mariah in his mid 30's; can you imagine such an undertaking? It would take vision, lots of courage and no small amount of salemanship.

Chris, I'm just curious...what was his username? Did he ever post?

sad Mariah owner
 

Sorry to hear about Jimmy. He was only five day older than I am. Owning a Mariah and being a member of this site has made me feel like a "special" boat owner. I doubt that many boat owners know the history of their boat, the man and the company that started "Mariah". I really respect individuals like Jimmy who have the foresight, intelligence and "intestinal fortitude" to develope something like he did. Sorry he will no longer be with us. Paul

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.

:wink_thumbup:

Thanks for your reply Jason. Your Dad has given all of us here countless memories with our familys on the Mariahs your Dad designed.

I am sure you will miss him, but what I have seen and read, your Dad was truely a guy that was respected dearly in this Mariah community.

Keep in touch with us.

2 OWNER MARIAH

Jason, I think I speak for most all of us when I say we are honored by your response and prescence here.

I would like to know anything you cared to share about your dad. Like, what did he do prior to starting Mariah? He must have just been in his 30's when he started Mariah. What a brave and scary step that must have been for him! What gave him the impetus and desire to embark on such a venture?

I can't give you any of your dad time back you lost to these wonderful boats, but I can tell you this, you'd be welcome to be on my Mariah on Lake Shelbyville anytime you want.

Thank you

Chris and I are putting the finishing touches on a document that will answer these questions and more! Keep an eye on the "Mariah Boats Inc and Jimmy Fulks Biography" section for that in the next couple days.

I figured since we were all a part of this, I'd share the thank you card I received from the Fulks family.

Photos attached.

Sad News
 

I'm sorry to see this post. It is truly amazing though that this mans creation has such a dedicated following.

I am an engineer and frankly a detail freak, so when I first saw and inspected my 1996 Shabah 210 prior to purchase I was certainly impressed. The attention to detail was incredible and honestly the boat was dirty but not hurt. A couple of hours of cleaning and all of the original dressings appeared as new(a testiment to the quality). I recieved many comments from friends and family asking "how old is this boat?" When I told them it's a 1996, the comments were all the same. "It looks better than most boats that are one year old".

Unfortunately I sold the boat to purchase a Z302 that fell through so now I'm looking again. (For an original Mariah of course! z250 if anyone has one for sale)

To the Admin Guys, my hats off to you both fora job very well done. To Jimmy, your legacy will certainly live on, to his family I'm sorry for your loss.

Efo...

Condolences to the family of Jimmy, it's sad and much to jong. R.I.P. Jimmy

That is terrible news, sorry I have been oof the site for awhile. I went through a separation with the girlfriend and yes I kept my Mariah 198se Shabah. I have done so much work on this beauty, I get excited when someone mentions the word summer. Enough of that, may god bless his family and Thank you for continuing your relationship with Mariah's Boat Club. Yours Truly Theluzz{Mike Luzzi}

Carpe Diem
 

I lost my father this past Thanksgiving Day. Moments like this can give you pause for thought. Time on the water can give you this opportunity.

Re: Sad News for Mariah Owners
 

Im very sad to hear of his passing. I, my sister, my brother, niece, brother in law all worked at the Benton plant back in the early 90's. Im so sorry. Very friendly and caring owner. You didnt see that back then and certainly not today in the factory world.