Jim was born April 29,1943, passed October 7, 2023 @ Providence Sacred Heart hospital due to Covid.
Jim was the second born of Oscar & Ruth Anderson's 8 children on Westside Calispell Rd Cusick WA diary farm.
Jim graduated Cusick High School class of 1961 & completed a correspondence coarse in mechanical drafting.
March 2,1964 Jim married Julie Ann Davaz of Furport WA. They settled in their own home neighboring to the Anderson dairy farm.
April 1965 they welcomed Joyce Linda & January 1968 brought Jill LaVon into the family.
Jim worked as a sawyer for a local Usk timber company & lended a hand whenever needed on the family diary farm. Jim suffered some serious chain saw cuts to his knees while being a sawyer. As he limped into Jackson Motors in Newport to purchase a vehicle, Don Jackson refused to do business with him until Jim promised to get employment at Sewell Engineering. Jim worked for Sewell's 20 yrs until PUD formed their in house engineering department & Jim secured the position of survey engineer for 25 yrs.
Jim was involved & served as President of Newport Rodeo Association as well as Cusick Fair & Rodeo for many yrs. Jim was elected to serve on the Cusick School Board for most of Joyce & Jill's 12 yrs of education. He assisted his daughters with 4-H horse projects & attended most of their sports events.
Jim got involved with Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation when Pend Oreille County formed their chapter as he was an avid lifelong hunter.
Jim also served 25 yrs as a volunteer firefighter for Pend Oreille Co. Fire District 4. He became a captain & was elected to serve as a fire commissioner.
Jim always loved going to the woods & cutting good firewood. November 8,2014 he suffered a life altering brain injury when a dead tree top fell & fractured his skull. Jim spent nearly 7 months in 4 different facilities recovering & rehabilitation. Julie Ann brought him home May 24,2015 in a wheelchair & he began physical therapy first with Home Health then at the Kalispel Camas Center Clinic therapy pool in October 2015. With due diligence Jim progressed to walking with a walker & eventually with a cane. Julie Ann was Jim's caregiver & maintained home & yard. So many thanks to family, friends & neighbors, especially Larry Cordes, who willingly lended a hand when needed. Fire District 4 volunteers were invaluable to Jim & Julie Ann.
Jim was preceded in death by his parents, Oscar & Ruth, oldest brother Leo, sister Linda Vosahlo, sister Lorrie. He is survived by wife Julie Ann, daughters Joyce(Tim)Montgomery, Jill (Victor) Hernandez, sisters Diane Williams & Krickett Prine, brothers Dave (Christa) & John (Liz), 4 grandchildren, 4 great grandchildren, many nieces & nephews.
For so many years years Jim & Julie Ann managed a fine herd of Quarter horses. He trained many young horses & they rode the Batey-Bould ORV trail system just a mile & a half from their driveway. Jim & brother John put up hay together. Jim & Julie Ann loved picking huckleberries in the summer.
Recently Jim & Julie Ann moved to assisted living in the Spokane Valley. Jim fell in the bathroom 9/23/23, broke his nose, went to Providence Sacred Heart ER, treated aggressively for AFIB. Was transferred to St Joseph 10/3/23 for rehab, tested positive for Covid so was sent back to Providence Sacred Heart ER 10/04/23 struggling to breathe on maximum oxygen.
A memorial service is scheduled April 29, 2024 at 11:00 at Sherman-Campbell funeral home in Newport WA so all immediate family can be present. In lieu of flowers please make a donation to your favorite charity in his name.
Jim was very family & community oriented. He was as reliable as the Rock of Gibraltar.