CAPPEL JR., James Howard

James Howard Cappel Jr., also known as Jimmy, Jim, and, by a few, “Nascar,” was born on July 4th, 1965, in Tampa, Florida, and died at the age of 59 on October 31st, 2024, after a lifelong battle with addiction that began after witnessing the death of his cousin, Dennis, when he was 17. He wasn’t a perfect person, but he always wanted to improve himself and become a better man for his family and friends. He tried his best to overcome these struggles, but he was never able to find the right resources to sustainably support him. Some people might have only thought of Jimmy as “just an addict”, as irresponsible, or as untrustworthy, but he was so much more than that, and he shouldn’t be defined by the mistakes he made.

Jimmy was an artist who was talented in many areas. Over the years, he made many beautiful paintings for his daughter, Claire, with the vast majority of them being depictions of lakes and beaches, and he occasionally wrote poems as well. Jimmy was an avid music lover and concertgoer, with some of his favorite music artists being 38 Special, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Metallica, among many other bands that fall under the 80s rock genre. He had a special way of getting to meet musicians, too, with the most notable being in 2011 when he got an autograph from Taylor Swift during her Speak Now tour in St. Pete. Jimmy was a best friend to all animals, always doing his best to take care of any cats or dogs that crossed his path. He was a handyman, too, who had a knack for side gigs like painting houses, mowing yards, pulling weeds, construction work, or any other type of home improvement you could think of. One thing about Jimmy, he was always going to pull out all the weeds he saw in your yard, whether you wanted him to or not.

And of course, Jimmy absolutely loved Nascar, and more particularly, the race car driver Rusty Wallace. His friends and family like to say that he was “the number one fan of number two”. He met Rusty at least a dozen times, and there’s absolutely no telling how many autographs he managed to get. Naturally, Jimmy always had several pictures taken with Rusty whenever there was an opportunity, and one photo of him, his daughter, and Rusty was even featured in the Tampa Bay Times in July 2005.

Despite what some people might have believed, Jimmy was anything but selfish. Much like his mother, Estelle, he would always do whatever he could to help the people he loved and cared for, even if that meant he was putting himself and his needs at a disadvantage. He did his absolute best to maintain close relationships with his family members, and he’s survived by his daughter Claire Cappel, his father James Cappel Sr., his half-brother Michael Cappel, his brother-at-heart Dave Adams, his uncle Clayton Partridge, his aunt Linda Needham, and his countless cousins.

Jimmy’s memorial service will be located at the Cremations of Greater Tampa Bay Chapel located at 110 N Macdill Avenue, Tampa, FL 33609, on December 28th, 2024 from 2pm-4pm. In lieu of flowers, we ask that if you would like to make any contributions to financially support the family during this difficult and strenuous time, please contact Claire Cappel at (813)-270-9334.