Monday, March 25, 2019

James Estes 1942 - 2019



Cartoonist James Estes has passed away. He was a longtime resident of Amarillo, TX. Few details at this time.

He had just celebrated his 55th wedding anniversary last month.




From the Amarillo Globe-News:

"Mr. Estes married the former Martha Ella Hudgens on Jan. 24, 1964, in Sunray.

"The couple has lived in Austin, Chicago, and Houston. They have lived in Amarillo for the past [52] years.

"Mr. Estes is a cartoonist and Mrs. Estes is a retired registered nurse and a homemaker.

"The couple are members of Church of Christ and National Cartoonists Society.

"They have three children, Robert Estes and wife Suzanne of Melbourne, Fla., Kelley Jones and husband Brad of Terrell, and Paige Storlie and husband Gene of Amarillo; five grandchildren, Austin, Bailey, McKenzie and Landon Estes and Christina Storlie Ufford and husband Adam; and a great-grandchild, Sadie Ufford."

He was a longtime cartoonist whose career spanned over fifty years. His cartoons were published worldwide in many publications, including the Saturday Evening Post.

James and I only chatted a few times, and I always found him the nicest guy. He was always busy, always thinking about new cartoons and new markets for his work.

I first heard about his passing from his friend and colleague, the cartoonist Tim Oliphant, who wrote an announcement on his Facebook page:

"Sad news, at least for me personally, in the world of cartooning. I just got word from his daughter, that gag cartoonist James Estes has passed away this morning. Many of us of a certain age knew James, or at least his cartoons. His cartoons appeared regularly since the 60s in magazines such as Woman's World, Sat. Evening Post, Boy's Life, Leatherneck, Highlights, and just about every other magazine that's ever published gag cartoons. James, and his wife Martha, are wonderful people. They were married over fifty years. The cartooning world has lost another great cartoonist. While not highly recognized for his contributions, he was dedicated, widely published, knew his craft well, and left a legacy of a wonderful family and friends who find this a most sad and troubling day."

My deep condolences to his wife and family. The cartooning world has not just lost a prolific professional, but a good friend. 


2 comments:

Tim Arem said...

Hi Mike,
I recently saw an old cartoon created by James Estes. I found this in the Chicken Soup for the Teacher Soul. I'm wanting to use the cartoon in my new book. Do you have any idea of who I could reach out to for permission for placement in my book?

Thank you for your time.

Tim Arem, M.Ed.
Asheville, NC
tbonerun@outlook.com








Mike Lynch said...

If you have a contract with a publisher for your book, then most of them will hire a rights clearance person who handles that. If you are the person who has to get the clearances yourself, contact the Chicken Soup publisher and ask them. They should be able to help.