This is the text of my Tribute to Jim Cox, my Dad; which I gave at his Funeral. 

My Dad was known to most of you as Jim, but to those of you who knew him as a boy, and growing up in Highcliffe he was Jimmy.
His father; my Grandad, was always Jim, my dad was Jimmy to avoid confusion. I’m James, to also try avoid confusion.
Today, I’m going to call him Jim, because that’s the name by which he was known to most of you.
Jim was born in Boscombe Hospital, by caesarean section on the 24th of April 1947. He was brought up Highcliffe by my Grandad Jim and Nanny Jessie. He told me stories of his young life in Highcliffe, long summers on the beach with his best friend Philip; with plenty of scrapes that they never got found out for.
The family lived in a bungalow built by Grandad Jim named Jays Court, in Montague Road, Highcliffe, it was called Jays Court after the three Js, Jessie, Jim and Jimmy.
Jim enjoyed his time at school, but then he enjoyed almost everything he did anyway. He wasn’t the most academic student but did well at maths. Jim suffered with asthma for all of his life, this was even worse in the spring and summer because he also suffered from hay fever. 
Jim missed a fair bit of school and almost all his exams; being confined to bed by hay fever and asthma every June. His life was transformed when the Ventolin asthma inhaler was invented in the late 1960s.
Jim joined the family building firm as an apprentice carpenter; something he went onto excel at. He went to college in Boscombe on his Lambretta Scooter, which started his love of motorbikes.
His parents always bought cars made by the Rootes Group. Grandad had a couple of Sunbeam Rapier cars, Jessie had a Hillman Imp, which Jim learned to drive in. And terrorised his mates with their Minis, apparently. More on Hillman Imps later.
Jim first knew my mother Hazel at Ashley School in New Milton; he was a year above her, so obviously they did not talk at school. They married on 26th April 1969 and moved into their new house in Seaton Close, which was a wedding present from Grandad Jim.
I was born in 1971. We moved into what was the family home of many years in Ringwood Road a couple of years later. The family cat and the first of 6 dogs arrived in 1974.
Our first family holiday abroad was to Majorca; staying in an apartment owned by Grandad.
My brother Daniel was born in 1975. We had regular family holidays throughout the 1970s and 80s. Trips to Cornwall and West Wales in Grandad’s caravan. Then 3 successive years on hire boats to the Norfolk Broads, the River Thames and the Norfolk Broads yet again; with my parents’ friends. Holidays to the Caribbean and Canary Islands followed.
Jim bought his first boat, a wooden fishing boat with a Yamaha outboard motor. Jim repaired the wooden boat and painted it blue and white. This was the start of a very long association with motorboats.
The next boat was another wooden boat, painted bright yellow; named Tosca. It was fast enough, just; for waterskiing, a sport Jim loved. 
The need for more speed on the water was catching up with Jim, so Tosca was replaced with Chilli Willi, which was the same as one other boat owned by Prince Charles, at the time. Chilli Willi was the first boat Jim ever competed in a powerboat race in. Driving his own boat in the 1978 Cancer Research Powerboat Race at Poole, I can’t remember what place he finished. 
Another speedboat called Blue Moves was followed by a Sunseeker cruiser, kept on the River Stour at Christchurch. We enjoyed countless family trips, with whichever dog of the time, to Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight and further afield.
Jim’s passion for powerboat racing was building up in the early 1980s, he would take his mates out on Blue Moves to watch powerboat races in Poole Bay and the Solent. Jim got to know Len Hall. Len had already been powerboat racing for a couple of years. Len bought a wooded Cougar catamaran and named it Southern Raider. It wasn’t a new boat, so Jim’s carpentry skills were soon put to good use repairing the old boat.
During 1982 Len was looking for a new navigator. Len and Jim’s first competitive powerboat race was at Hamble, about halfway through the season. Len and Jim won the 1983 Class 3D National Championship in the oldest boat with the oldest engines; a combination of fearless driving by Len and tactical navigation by Jim.
Jim’s reputation as an outstanding offshore powerboat navigator was soon very well known. Neil Holmes had obtained substantial sponsorship for his new Class 3C catamaran, Neil had no hesitation in asking Jim to join him to race in Power Prime. They had some success but did not win any championships. All that was to change when Neil had his first 4 Litre catamaran built. Neil and Jim won the 1988 4 Litre World and National Championships. Neil had an even better boat built, to his own specifications; Fina Unleaded.
Neil and Jim won a total of 6 powerboat world championships: 1988 4 Litre, 1989 4 Litre, 1990 Class 2, 1992 4 Litre, 1994 4 Litre, 1997 4 Litre. Competing throughout Britain, Europe, and the Middle East.
After he stopped competing in powerboat racing himself, Jim and my mother travelled in support of British powerboat competitors to South Africa and Italy, Jim as the British representative on Race Juries. As well as sitting on Protest Juries at British powerboat races.
Concurrently with fantastic success in powerboat racing, Jim always had a boat of his own. The family Sunseeker was replaced with two successive Rigid Inflatable boats. The second of which Jim and I fitted out together from new, and was a regular feature of powerboat races in the 2000s as the start boat.
Jim’s love of Hillman Imps never left him from his early motoring days in the 1960s. Somehow or other, he persuaded my brother, Daniel; to buy a lime green Hillman Imp as his first car.
Jim enjoyed borrowing Daniel’s Imp so much, that he bought one of own. And then another, and another. Jim spent hours and hours in the garage at the bottom of the garden, cleaning and painting parts of Imps, refurbishing components and sorting out spares. He always said it was better than what was on television. 
He joined the Imp Club, attending monthly meetings at both the Dorset and Hampshire Imp Clubs. Jim was a key member of the organising committee for the 2005 Imp National Gathering, near Corfe Castle. 
Jim couldn’t pass any opportunity to acquire yet another Imp in need of repair or restoration. The Imps he bought, or were given to him, often came with spare parts. On many occasions, Jim would swap parts between Imps and his spares collection to make a good car that was reliable, safe, and passed an MOT that he would sell on.
But he always kept the best parts for himself, for his own Imps. Jim owned at some point or other; a blue Hillman Imp standard, a 2 tone green and cream Hillman Husky, which got a more powerful engine. A dark blue Imp Van, which had fuel injection fitted for a while. And an orange and white racing spec Imp. Plus a few more!
He eventually settled on his favourite 2 Imps, which we have brought here today. The blue Sunbeam Stiletto and the White Nymph kit car. Jim, my mother, and dogs attended lots of Classic Car shows in either the Stiletto or the Nymph. Winning numerous awards.
Jim semi-retired but continued to work part time. Work was never a chore or a bind for him, he loved work.
If anyone needed help, with their houses, cars or boats; Jim was always happy to assist.
As a father, Daniel and I could not ask for more. Jim spent so much time with us as we were growing up. He was always happy to try to teach us things, he gave us lifts before we could drive, he helped us both learn to drive.
I know that my friends were jealous of me, having a dad who had interesting cars and boats, and was successful at a sport like powerboat racing.
Above all else, he was supportive, caring and loving.