James Edward "Jim" Powell

Jim Powell passed away in Fort Myers Beach, Florida, on January 27, 2020 at the age of 69. Jim was born in Elwood, Indiana, on February 19, 1950 to parents Phillip and Emalee (Hubbard) Powell. He graduated from Elwood High School and went on to earn his bachelor’s degree from Purdue University and his MFA degree in fiction writing from Bowling Green State University in Ohio. Jim was proud of founding the Indiana Writers Center (formerly the Writers’ Center of Indianapolis), a statewide, nonprofit organization which mentors writers, in 1979. He served as Executive Director of the organization for twenty years. In recent years, he was a Senior Lecturer in the English Department at IUPUI, where he passed on his editorial expertise and compassionate, if at times curmudgeonly, coaching to generations of writers of short fiction. In 2019, Jim published Only Witness, a collection of short stories, through the Indiana Writers Center to commemorate the Center’s 40th anniversary.

Jim was preceded in death by his parents, Phillip and Emalee. He leaves to cherish his memory, his beloved wife, Karen Kovacik; his cousin Tom Hastings (wife, Ursina Hastings-Heinz); his much loved goddaughter, Natasha Hastings-Heinz, and cousins James Hubbard (partner Bruce Walters), David Hubbard, and Tom Hubbard (wife Diane); his in-laws who cared for him deeply—Fran Kovacik; John and Linda Maassen; Pete and Nichole Kovacik; nieces Carrie, Natalie, and Emma Kovacik; nephew Mateo Palos and his wife Julia; as well as many other family members and close friends.

Friends may call from 4 pm until 8 pm, Sunday, February 2, 2020 at Flanner Buchanan-Broad Ripple (1305 Broad Ripple Avenue, Indianapolis). A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 am on Monday, February 3, 2020 at St. Mary Catholic Church (311 N. New Jersey Street, Indianapolis). Burial will be private in Oaklawn Memorial Gardens Cemetery.

Memorial contributions in Jim’s memory may be made to the Indiana Writers Center; Compassion & Choices, and / or Exodus Refugee Organization.