Jim Giles (1939–December 20, 2006) was a longtime

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

meteorologist with CBS affiliate KOTV, Channel 6 in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

. A "longtime fixture" on Oklahoma television, after his death the ''

Tulsa World The ''Tulsa World'' is the daily newspaper for the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and primary newspaper for the northeastern and eastern portions of Oklahoma. Tulsa World Media Company is part of Lee Enterprises. The new owners announced in January 202 ...

'' described him as "perhaps the best-known weatherman in this area".

Career

Giles began his career in 1961. Upon graduation from Ball State University, he was commissioned as an officer in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

. While in the Air Force, he served as the commander of the Nha Trang weather station in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

and spent three years at the Severe Storms Forecast Center in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

. It was during those years that development began on

Doppler weather radar Weather radar, also called weather surveillance radar (WSR) and Doppler weather radar, is a type of radar used to locate precipitation (meteorology), precipitation, calculate its motion, and estimate its type (rain, snow, hail etc.). Modern wea ...

. He taught meteorology and worked in broadcasting in

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

and

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

before joining KOTV in 1981 as chief meteorologist.

Giles' Coats for Kids

Since 1986, Giles spearheaded the Giles' Coats For Kids Campaign, which provided warm winter coats for Oklahomans who would otherwise do without. As of his retirement over 200,000 coats had been donated.

Retirement and death

On November 22, 2006, Giles retired from KOTV after 25 years. In his final interview, Giles said he wanted to be remembered for "just doing a good job."The News On 6 Honors Jim Giles

KOTV-DT KOTV-DT (channel 6) is a television station in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Griffin Media alongside Muskogee-licensed CW affiliate KQCW-DT (channel 19) and radio stations KTSB (1170 AM), KBEZ (92.9 FM), ...

, December 26, 2006. After his retirement, Giles began a business venture selling steel

safe room A safe room or panic room is a fortified room that is installed in a private residence or business to provide a safe shelter, or hiding place, for the inhabitants in the event of a break in, home invasion, tornado, terror attack, or other thr ...

s of his own design as storm shelters for the tornado-prone Tulsa area, but a few weeks later, on December 20, 2006, he died after battling a series of health problems.

Legacy

In 2007, Giles was posthumously inducted to the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame. In the same year, the University of Oklahoma (where he received a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

) named a classroom after Giles. Also in 2007, a small park area on Rhema Bible Church's property was dedicated to him. The Giles Coats for Kids program continues, with thousands of coats being donated each year. Giles' wife, Hannah, continued the partnership with Bennett Steel, Inc. to sell Jim Giles Safe Rooms, which are designed to withstand an F5 tornado. On December 31, 2014, the company closed its doors, citing an "increasingly competitive market".

References

External links

Obituary
at

Legacy.com Legacy.com is a United States-based website founded in 1998, the world's largest commercial provider of online memorials. The Web site hosts obituaries and memorials for more than 70 percent of all U.S. deaths.Keagle, Lauri Harvey"Death in the D ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Giles, Jim (Meteorologist) 1939 births 2006 deaths American television meteorologists Television personalities from Tulsa, Oklahoma United States Air Force officers United States Air Force personnel of the Vietnam War