Jim's Story

James Denton Nagle was born on February 22, 1996 in Morristown, N.J.  He was the first born child of James and Amelia Nagle.  His sister, Kathleen, soon followed after Jim and was born on August 1, 1997.  They were extremely close and Jim gave her the nickname "Leenie" when they were toddlers.  Jim loved books and his parents read to him as a young child.  His mom, Amy, worked at the Somerset County Library and would often bring home many books to satisfy Jim's love of reading.  Soon he was reading on his own and read a book to the class on the first day of Kindergarten. His love of reading and writing continued through middle school and high school and he decided to major in Journalism at Ohio State University where he received the National Buckeye Scholarship. Jim decided to switch his major to English and Education and graduated from Ohio State in 2018.  He then began a teacher licensure program at Capital University also in Columbus to obtain a 7-12 Language Arts certification.  He was student teacher for grade 7 at Whitehall Middle School in Whitehall, OH, when the pandemic hit and schools were closed.  Jim struggled with depression and anxiety from bullying in middle and high school.  He was worried about completing his student teaching and struggled with how to connect with his students when school was closed.  He purchased cocaine to feel better, but it turned out to be fentanyl and was killed.  His mom Amy struggled to find justice for her son and the police was not able to find the person who sold Jim fentanyl.  In 2024, Amy was visiting Bethany Beach, DE with her family.  Jim loved going to Bethany Beach for the annual Denton family reunions.  Amy met a father who lost his son and created a charity to memorialize him.  She decided to form Jim's Books, Inc. to carry on Jim's mission for teaching and literacy.  Here is an narrative Jim wrote when he was studying education.  He was a gifted writer and loved the Harry Potter books! "How I Learned to Read" essay by Jim D. Nagle.