Jim Core, dubbed the “Bank of Mammoth” by the late Rick Blake and considered by many to be one of Mammoth’s three “icons” of the real estate and business communities (along with Dave McCoy and Tom Dempsey) passed away last Saturday. He was 74.

Core, who co-owned the Inyo-Mono Title Company with his son Jerry, is survived by Jo, his wife of 57 years, Jerry, daughter Judy Markham, five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Core was born in Paris, Arkansas in 1936. His family moved to the Ventura, Calif. area in the early 1940s. He was in the title insurance and escrow business for over fifty years, starting out in Ventura with stops in Concord and Merced before settling in the Eastern Sierra in 1983.

Soon after his arrival, son Jerry said that the United States Geological Survey’s (USGS) determination that Mammoth had “volcanic issues” led to a tremendous amount of economic uncertainty and property foreclosures. No banks would lend on Mammoth property. So Core stepped forward with a group of fellow Rotarians to establish a funding source for builders and buyers. “I know we funded a lot of people’s payrolls in the ‘80s,” said Jerry.

As Stacey Bardfield of Mammoth Sierra Properties added, “Jim provided the bridge between the people who had money and the people who needed it.”

“Because of him, many people in Mammoth Lakes are where they are today, me included,” said local real estate developer John Hooper.

“All of us would consider him a mentor,” Bardfield added. “He helped everyone from the guy trying to buy the mobile home to the guy building the multimillion dollar spec home to the lonely real estate agent who didn’t know what to do with their life.”

Bardfield said Core would hand-deliver commission checks and then sit down to chat, and it’s the memory of those personal conversations which she will forever cherish.

John Hooper described Core as “Easily the most knowledgeable person I’ve ever met in real estate and business. I always sought his advice before making any major decisions.”

“He was the most generous person I’ve ever met,” continued Hooper. “Some say he was generous to a fault, but … I don’t think generosity can be described as a character flaw.

He was one the few people left whom you could do business with on a handshake.”

Son Jerry recalled his mother’s observation that “He [Jim] never met a stranger.” He had an instant connection with people who liked and trusted him and sought his opinion.

As Jerry said, “He gave people a fuzzy feeling.” And he had a wonderful laugh. In a crowded room, you could identify where he was.

Jerry said his mother and father were always identified as a team and were invariably together. In fact, Jim and Jo knew each other as kindergartners in Arkansas and reconnected in high school after Jo’s family also moved out to California.

Jo was her husband’s faithful caregiver from the time he was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS) in January, 2009 until his passing.

Inyo-Mono Title is and has always been a family business, and that extends beyond the children and grandchildren who have joined Inyo- Mono Title over time. “Everybody with us [at the company] is a part of our family,” said Jerry.

Just family, employees past and present and a handful of others were present at funeral services Tuesday.

Those who wish to make contributions in Core’s memory can do so by contributing to ALS research via:

Renown Institute for Neurosciences
ALS Division – Attn. Lisa Jonkey
10101 Double R Blvd.
Reno, NV 89521