Jim Braden, Inventor of the Mighty Stone SawA retired veteran and orthopedic surgeon who came to the stone industry as a second career is mourned in Tennessee. Jim Braden passed away on Jan. 8, 2016, as a result of injuries from a car accident. He grew up on a farm in Oklahoma, working alongside his father. He and his wife Doris were married for 45 years. She plans to carry on the business that Jim started. 

Jim served as a flight surgeon in the Navy. On his retirement from the Navy, he moved to a small town in Georgia to start an orthopedic practice. Jim retired from practicing medicine in 1998, and moved to Crossville, Tennessee, the heart of the old Crab Orchard limestone industry. There, Jim started a new career designing veneer saws and stone breakers. He was a jack of all trades and enjoyed inventing, fishing, woodworking and the next big idea. He was proud of his children and grandchildren. Jim is survived by his mother, Nila; wife, Doris; sister, Joye; his children, Jeremy, Jason and Julie; and five grandchildren.