James Shimberg

SHIMBERG, , James Heiman , 84, of Tampa, passed away at his home, surrounded by his loving wife and 5 children, on June 15, 2007 after a long and valiant struggle with lung cancer. He was predeceased in death by his parents, Dr. Mandell Shimberg and Anna Heiman Shimberg. He is survived by his beloved wife of fifty years, Amy Gross Shimberg; his 5 children and their spouses: James, Jr. (Elizabeth); Nancy (Dr. Edward Paikoff); Robert (Michelle); Richard (Dena) and Janet (Andrew Knust); his fifteen grandchildren Reed, Claire, and Jared Shimberg; Jacob and Jonathan Paikoff; Taylor, Connor, and Jilan Shimberg; Kyle, Rhett, Chase, and Owen Shimberg; and Wyatt, Amelia, and Aubrey Knust; his brother Mandell "Hinks" Shimberg (Elaine) and numerous nieces and nephews.

He was born in Syracuse, New York on March 6, 1923, but also grew up in Morristown, New Jersey; Alexandria, Louisiana; Chicago, Illinois; and Leavenworth, Kansas, as his father was an orthopedic surgeon for the Veterans Administration and was reassigned often.

Best known as "Jim," he attended both the University of Kansas and City College of New York before serving in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II (later the United States Air Force). He achieved the rank of First Lieutenant. After World War II, he enrolled in the University of Chicago Law School where he received his law degree in 1949. He practiced law in New York from 1949 until 1958.

Jim married Amy Ruth Gross on May 19, 1957 in Daytona Beach, Florida and they first lived in New York and then moved to Tampa in 1958. They celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary this year. She was his rock and their love was pure. She was truly the love of his life.

Although he was a member of the Florida Bar for almost 50 years , Jim is perhaps best known in Tampa as a builder and developer, who together with his brother developed much of the Town 'N Country area and built over 7,000 homes in the Tampa area. Most recently, as a partner in the Shimberg Cross Company, he, with his brother and Glen Cross, participated in the development of over 5,000 residential lots for sales to builders, primarily in the Brandon area.

Jim was a recognized leader in the housing industry for almost fifty years, having served as President of the Tampa Home Builders Association and as President of the Florida Home Builders Association. He also served as a Vice President of the National Association of Home Builders ("NAHB") and was a founder of the National Housing Endowment, the philanthropic arm of NAHB. Because of his significant contributions to housing in America, Jim was inducted into the National Housing Hall of Fame in Washington, D. C. in 1985. In 1991, he endowed the Shimberg Center for Affordable Housing at the University of Florida.

He served until his death as a Trustee of both the University of South Florida and the University of Florida Foundations. He made significant contributions to the University of South Florida Foundation in an effort to further research on Parkinson disease.

He also served on several important growth management committees by appointment of Florida Governors Askew and Graham. In 1972, he was a member of the original Environment Land Management Study Committee (ELMS), chairman of Governor Bob Graham's Resource Management Task Force (1979), and the State Comprehensive Plan Committee (1985).

He was the Democratic nominee for Florida State Senate, District 21 in 1986, winning the Democratic primary but losing the general election.

He was very active in hospital affairs in Tampa, having served in the 1960s as a member of the Hospital Council of the Hospital and Welfare Board which then governed Tampa General Hospital .In 1968, he was one of the founders of the University Community Hospital ("UCH"), serving as its first chairman of the Board for nine years and as a very dedicated member of its Board of Trustees until his death. UCH was very important to him and he rarely if ever missed a meeting of the Board or one of the many committees he served on or chaired. After a generous gift from Jim and Amy, the cardiac rehabilitation center at UCH is now named the "Jim and Amy Shimberg Cardiac Rehab Center".

A dedicated community volunteer, he served for 25 years as Vice President of the Judeo-Christian Health Clinic and was an original member of the Board of the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay and served as its chairman for two years. He also served on the Board of the SunTrust Bank (and its predecessor banks in Tampa) for 27 years. In 1990, Jim was chairman of the Hillsborough County Charter Review board. In 2003, Jim and Amy were named "Philanthropists of the Year" by the Tampa Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

He was a member of the University Club of Tampa. He also was a longtime member of Congregation Schaarai Zedek in Tampa and previously served on its Board of Trustees. He was also a strong supporter and former board member of the Tampa Jewish Federation.

In January, 2007, the Tampa Housing Authority re-named one of its recently renovated affordable housing properties in his honor, "The Sanctuary at James H. Shimberg Estates". In February, 2007, he was named Tampa's Citizen of the Year by the Tampa Civitan Club recognizing his almost 50 years of service to the Tampa community.

He was a devoted husband to Amy, father and father in law to his 5 children and their spouses and grandfather to his 15 grandchildren. He was a student of history, especially the Civil War and visited many of the famous battlefields. He was a big New York Yankee fan. He was also a season ticket holder of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers since the inaugural season of 1976. Jim and Amy only missed a handful of Bucs home games in the team's history. He "adopted" the Florida Gators as his team and was very proud that 4 of his children earned a total of 6 degrees from the University. He was also an early supporter and fan of the USF football program.

A celebration of James H. Shimberg's life will be held on Monday, June 18th at 11:00am at Congregation Schaarai Zedek, 3303 Swann Avenue in Tampa, with Rabbi Richard Birnholz officiating. Interment will be private. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you consider making a donation to any of the following organizations all of which were near and dear to Jim: the University Community Hospital Foundation, the Judeo Christian Health Clinic, Moffitt Cancer Center, the USF Foundation, the National Housing Endowment, Congregation Schaarai Zedek, Meals on Wheels of Tampa, or the charity of your choice.