Jim Browder Passed Away….

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_{Jim Browder}

An Elvis fan who was "consumed" with "The King" died Friday doing what he loved -leading a tour of an out-of-the-way Elvis landmark. Jim Browder, owner and operator of J B Tours, died en route to a hospital from the Kang Rhee Institute on North Germantown Parkway about 3:30 p.m.

Mr. Browder, whose company specialized in Elvis-themed excursions, was giving a tour of the Cordova karate studio where Elvis once trained.

His friend, Jamie Coyne, said Mr. Browder "died doing what he loved. He was consumed with Elvis ... and he met people and made friends from all over the world through his tour," he said.

An Arkansas native who later lived in Olive Branch and Memphis, Mr. Browder, 47, started his tours in 2001 by taking friends to lesser-known Elvis landmarks across the city, including the singer's favorite eateries, hangouts and motor shops.

Mr. Browder, who authored three books on Elvis and his life in Memphis, shared his passion with others not only through tours, but with memorabilia. He was known to gift tourists with Elvis-themed books, CDs and DVDs that he had collected. "He gave most of it away," Coyne said.

Mr. Browder, who served in the Navy in the early '80s, had a heart attack at an Elvis event in Tampa, last year.

_{Source; Commercialappeal / EpGold}