Jim Cain was a Boy Scout leader who knew how to “motivate kids to succeed,” said son Brent Cain of Englewood.
Cain, who led Scout troops in Englewood for years, was killed instantly Aug. 4 when his motorcycle was struck by a car near Sturgis, S.D. He was 53.
His wife, Judy Cain, suffered internal injuries and a concussion.
Cain, owner of Floors by Cain in Englewood, had gone to Sturgis for the annual motorcycle rally, and he and his wife were on their way to Hill City, S.D., about 50 miles from Sturgis, when the accident occurred.
Jim Cain could fix anything, said son Matthew Cain of Englewood. He totally remodeled his home.
“I worked with him. He treated everyone the same and always did the work right,” he said.
“He had a positive influence on my life,” said Robert Labak of Littleton, who was in his Scout troop as a teenager. “He was like an uncle to me.”
Brent Cain said his dad was a perfectionist but a good teacher.
Kids loved him because he was patient, Matthew Cain said, and they loved his practical jokes: “He loved making people laugh.”
“Jim was comfortable in his own skin and a charming guy,” said brother Doug Cain of Kent, Wash.
Cain rarely got angry with people, even the time when a friend, Dr. Cal Doner, was helping Cain on a project and sawed right through a ceiling.
“I told Jim I’m glad it was a ceiling and not a patient,” Doner said.
There was also the time Doner lost control of a sander.
“I went spinning around the room,” said Doner, of Littleton. “Jim couldn’t stop laughing.”
Doner, who worked with Cain on Scout trips, was retired from his medical practice and called Cain looking for work. He had no experience in remodeling or flooring, but Cain “tolerated my errors and patched up my mistakes,” Doner said.
James Cain was born July 22, 1952, in Kent, Wash., and graduated from Kentridge High School there. He served in the Navy four years.
He married Carolyn Conover and had three sons. They moved to Denver in 1980.
The Cains divorced, and Jim later married Judy Palmer.
Cain installed hardwood floors most of his life, eventually opening his own business.
In addition to his wife, sons and brother, he is survived by another son, Jacob Cain, also of Englewood; his mother, Josephine Snow of Federal Way, Wash.; a sister, Cathy Blevins of Clallam Bay, Wash., and two other brothers: Richard Cain of Kent and Bob Cain of Clallam Bay; a stepson, John Buch, and a stepdaughter, Sarah Buch, both of Englewood.
Staff writer Virginia Culver can be reached at 303-820-1223 or vculver@denverpost.com.
