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Jim Veilleux Obituary

Published by Legacy Remembers from Nov. 28 to Nov. 30, 2013.

Jim Veilleux Passed away on November 24, 2013 in San Anselmo. Jim was preceded in death by his parents Roland and Anna Veilleux. He is survived by his beloved siblings Carol Gill and Bob Veilleux and their spouses Dan and Teresa as well as nephew Dan Gill and nieces Michelle Gill and Jennifer Veilleux. Jim was born in Providence, RI and grew up in East Bridgewater, MA. He obtained a BS in Nuclear Physics from MIT and a Master's in Cinematography from USC. Jim served as a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army in Vietnam. Jim was passionate about photography and worked in visual effects in the film industry for over 20 years. His notable credits include work at ILM on such films as The Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Star Trek II and Poltergeist. After his work in film Jim spent the next 20 years working as a Programmer and web Developer. Memorial services will be held on Saturday, November 30th, 2013 at 11:00AM at Monte's Chapel Of The Hills, 330 Red Hill Avenue in San Anselmo.

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November 24, 2023

Friend

Thomas Smith

Dear Friends of Jim,

Jim had a brilliant mind, an artistic eye and a passion for perfection. We collaborated on an ambitious film for Encyclopedia Britannica films, "The Solar System." It was to be a journey from the sun outward, visiting each planet briefly. Jim built a 20-foot-long track for the camera with gears so it could be advanced in small increments as we moved in on 18-inch rotating spheres, painted to match each planet. Our "studio" was a rented space in the back of a dress factory in West Los Angeles. Though the film would be over 15 minutes in length, we were lucky to get a few good seconds on film each day. Sometimes a day´s work would be spoiled by a small glitch. Jim wanted it right and would re-shoot it. One day the nearby dress factory was sewing fluffy bathrobes. At the same time, Jim was doing a long move in on the planet Mars. Once the shot was set up, it could not be monitored till we saw the dailies. The film was rushed to the lab and the following day we saw the dynamic shot moving in on a realistic-looking Mars. But when it got close to the planet´s surface, it brought in to view a "giant" piece of bathrobe fluff that had floated down from the dress factory. The scene was, of course, reshot the following day.

The "Solar System" was a success and that began Jim´s career in special effects. After working on a low budget TV show, he landed a job working for George Lucas´ Industrial Light and Magic, the leader in special effects. At ILM Jim did visual effects for such films as "The Empire Strikes Back," "Raiders of the Lost Ark," and several Star Trek films, one of which he was given the job as "Supervisor of Visual Effects."

After Jim passed away, I told George Lucas that Jim had died. George remembered him and his fine work and was sad to hear of his passing.

Tom Smith, friend of Jim from 1974 to his passing in 2013.

January 27, 2022

School

Donald Nickerson

Jim and I were classmates in high school graduating 1962. He was the top male in our class of 84 students! I think some girl took #1.
He was so smart. He was the statistician for the basketball team and I was the center on the team. He was a good friend then and was that to others he met along life´s way, it seems. Thank you God for sending Jim our way!

February 6, 2014

Mary Hoadley

Jim was a colleague of mine at Autodesk. He was personable, forthright, and always approachable. We had a geographically dispersed team that truly appreciated his web expertise. I had no idea about his history in visual effects which is truly impressive! I am so sorry for the family's loss. Rest in peace Jim and God Bless.

January 7, 2014

Susa Thorndike

Jim was a classmate of mine in high school, and voted most likely to succeed. Sorry to hear of his death--he was very special.

December 10, 2013

Robert Veilleux

Hello, My name is Robert Veilleux and zi live in Minnesota. recently my sister in law sold flowers for Jim's funeral, she let me know of Jim's passing.She lives in San Anselmo and was surprised to hear the name Veilleux...
My fathers name was Robert, my grand fathers name was Joseph Veilleux Jr and his fathers name was Joseph Veilleux Sr. Please give my sympathies to OUR Family...!

December 10, 2013

Robert Veilleux

Posted by Robert Veilleux

December 7, 2013

Kent Smith

I first met Jim during our days at Britannica films, forty years ago, where his remarkable skills in photography impressed us all. Later, at Lucasfilm, we talked frequently, then kept in touch occasionally through Tom Smith. He was very, very intelligent, sweet-natured and thoughtful, a joy to spend a day with. I'll surely miss him.

December 3, 2013

Thomas Smith

I knew Jim well for over 40 years. He did astonishingly good work on several of my Encyclopedia Britannica Films, two for a physics series. But his biggest contribution in 16mm was his work on the Solar System film (1977). That film launched him on a visual effects career and assisted me in getting my Industrial Light and Magic job in 1980. At Industrial Light and Magic, Jim first made a big contribution to Empire Strikes Back as the cinematographer of the famous asteroid sequence. He shot second unit on Raiders of the Lost Ark and visual effects scenes for Poltergeist. Then as the co-supervisor of visual effects on Star Trek II he oversaw a historic use of digital images, working with Lucasfilm's computer division. Those were the first advanced uses of digital effects in a feature film. That division would later be sold to Steve Jobs and become Pixar, now a part of Disney.

Jim and I kept in touch after I left Lucasfilm and returned to the LA area. I made it a point to visit him on nearly all my trips to the Bay Area and we kept in contact by phone and email. We shared a love for photography but he was leagues ahead of me on the technical side. In the spring of 2010, I went to Yosemite and joined Jim taking photos of this special place. The last email I got from him, less than a week before he died, he expressed frustration that he couldn't get into the mountains to take some more pictures.

I am not only terribly saddened that he passed, I know it will be a great loss to me in the years to come. He was always willing to share his technical knowledge when I had trouble and asked for his help. He is no longer there to call.

I passed on the word of Jim's passing to several of the key Lucasfilm visual effects people who worked with him. All of them expressed their sorrow and spoke of his fine contribution to the art of visual effects.

Sadly, Tom Smith
General Manager of ILM (1980/1985)
Friend of Jim since 1974

December 1, 2013

John Therien

I'm truly blessed to have had Jim in my life for over ten years. When I was 10 I referred to him as "the walking encyclopidea" because he was the smartest man I ever knew. He was always so eager to share information on any given topic, even though, at the time I was most interested In why the sky was blue. No matter how many times I asked him, forgot, and asked him again he never once lost his passion and love of sharing and putting a smile on my face. He was the best listener and could always fill the room with conversation if there was none. His sense of humor helped me through the day while his advice prepared me for the the next. In thick and thin all he wanted to know was how mom and I were doing. Never in my life have I heard him complain. Not even at the end, when we sat together making toasts with our Ensure drinks, remarking on how good they were despite the effort it took for him to swallow. His optimism overflowed in life and the memories of his positivity will not fade with death.

Jim was more a gift to this world than I feel I could ever be. He was a friend, a role model, a mentor, and most of all a loving, generous, and selfless person whose loss took a out a chunk of my heart.

I will never forget him. And do all in my power to emulate him as he was the closest to perfect man I've ever known.

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330 Red Hill Ave, San Anselmo, CA 94960

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