Jim G. George, former Hoquiam City Councilor, was a kind, caring and genuine man who was full of character and drive.

He died on Oct. 3. He was 76.

To Jim’s “city family,” he was a really nice guy who cared for his neighbors. They said he wanted his neighbors and fellow taxpayers to know what they were paying in their water bill. He drove the city to include a formula so residents could convert the cubic foot of water measurement to gallons. To the layperson, a cubic foot equates to 7.48 gallons. Thanks Jim.

To Jim’s wife, Barb, he was “the smartest man she ever met.” But, he was so much more than an intelligence score. Hearing Barb’s tears as she spoke about her husband, it’s clear he was the love of her life. They would have celebrated their 29th wedding anniversary on Dec. 3. That day in 1994 was also when they “blended” their family with sons Adam and Mark, and daughters Allie and Katie.

Describing Jim

“Oh boy, that’s a tough one,” Barb said about how best to describe her husband. “Jim was a unique and caring character. He could hyper-focus on something and nothing could disturb him. He had a great love for his kids and for his grandkids. He just wanted to do the right thing all the time. That’s who Jim was.”

Barb said Jim was Autism Spectrum Disorder Level-1, or Asperger’s. She said a lot of people didn’t understand that.

“That’s where his hyper-focus came from,” Barb said. “Oh my goodness. It was extraordinary how well he could focus. He utilized his gifts and claimed them as his superpower.”

Barb highlighted her love’s intelligence.

“He was the smartest man most people ever met,” Barb said. “He had an IQ of 146, so he was the smartest man I ever met … (but) he didn’t loft that at you. It wasn’t something he flaunted. He just was smart.”

Jim used his cerebral prowess to graduate with a master’s degree in both business and engineering at Purdue University. As for his professional career, Barb said Jim’s job as a bank consultant led him on trips around the world. His last stop was Grays Harbor.

Landing in Hoquiam

Jim set his focus on helping people throughout his life on the Harbor, which started when the couple moved to Hoquiam in 2011.

Barb told how Jim loved working as the finance director for the Grays Harbor Community Foundation. He started working there after he and Barb moved to Hoquiam. She detailed Jim’s favorite part of the job — giving students a chance.

“He loved writing scholarship checks best,” Barb said. “He loved scholarship check day. The first time, I swear to god, he skipped all the way home. It just made him happy.”

Writing those checks gave Jim joy because as Barb said, “he helped participate in a more promising future” for the Harbor’s hard-working students.

“He knew he wasn’t the gift giver,” Barb said. “He would always say ‘All right, checks for other people. It’s not my money, but it’s money going to good places.’”

Jim, the family man

Then came the hardest part of describing her husband — introducing Jim as Grandy.

“Oh gee, oh boy, are you ready for some tears?” Barb said. “I refuse to cry. I’ve already cried twice this morning, not doing that.”

Barb described Jim as “practical and caring.”

“He wanted to make things better,” Barb said. “That was important to him, to make things better. And there we go (tears.)”

Jim’s alter ego was Grandy, because of the love he had for their grandchildren.

“The grandkids were his favorite thing,” Barb said. “We have a family camp that we call Grand Camp. Jim loved being a Grandy. That was his name to all the grandkids and he loved being their Grandy. We have six grandkids and each one of them is unique and remarkable, and he absolutely loved getting to spend time with them.”

While Barb loved her husband dearly, it was their eldest daughter, Allie, who wrote the first line in her father’s obituary. Barb wanted to give credit to Allie because of how well she described Jim.

“How did Allie put this?” Barb said as she pulled up Jim’s obituary. “She said ‘Jim G. George led an extraordinary life and will be greatly missed.’ She was enthralled with Jim. She kept saying ‘he’s the smartest man on the planet. He is. Smartest man I’ll ever meet.’”

Barb said their girls consider Jim to be “the best dad on the planet.”

Jim’s time on city council

Barb said Jim was devoted to the city. He served as city councilor from his election in 2017 until he retired in July because of his health problems.

“He loved this community,” Barb said. “This community was really important to him.”

Barb said she encouraged Jim to apply for the position. He ran unopposed, but that didn’t take away the satisfaction of winning.

“When he won, it meant the world to him,” Barb said. “And he hated stepping down. He hated it. He fought with me about that …”

Barb said Jim battled the loss of his language skills near the end of his life. He knew he had more in the tank.

“He could occasionally get something out, but he pounded his chest and he pointed at himself and said ‘Value, value,’” Barb said. “He was valuable. He knew he still had ideas but he just couldn’t speak well anymore. It was very difficult for him.”

Jim’s ‘city family’

Brian Shay, Hoquiam’s city administrator, said he’s known Jim and Barb for a long time.

“They’ve both been very active and supportive of the Hoquiam community since they relocated here,” Shay said.

Shay highlighted many of the qualities Jim exuded. One of those qualities was Jim’s intelligence.

“He was super intelligent,” Shay said. “He was a wiz with numbers, a super smart guy who you could bounce ideas off of.”

Shay said it was Jim’s “passion” to include the formula for gallons on the city’s water bill. He said it was because most people don’t understand what a cubic foot of water — the other metric used on the bill — is. Jim wanted people clear on what they were paying for.

Shay appreciated how Jim recognized the importance of supporting the business community, revitalizing the downtown area, supporting industry and the need to bring more jobs to the community because it’s what supports the city services.

“Basically every interaction with Jim was always a good one,” Shay said.

But mostly, Shay will miss his friend.

“Jim was just somebody who was very passionate and very caring about the community and was a really nice man,” Shay said. “He’s definitely going to be missed by his city family for sure.”

Steven Puvogel, Hoquiam’s city council president, said it was an “honor” working with Jim.

“I got to meet Jim a little bit prior to joining the council,” Puvogel said. “I saw him after Hoquiam Loggers Playday and had a nice visit. He really brought in a lot of good thoughts and thinking into the city of Hoquiam, and then of course working on Grays Harbor Community Foundation. He’s one of those guys who was working to make the community better. He wanted to make sure that people knew what they were getting from their city.”

Foundation says goodbye to Jim

To the Foundation, Jim was more than just its finance director, he was also a friend, according to a statement from the Foundation. Jim retired from the Foundation at the end of 2022.

“We had many laughs together through the years and we will miss him at the Foundation and as a staple in our community,” the statement read. “Jim was one of a kind and we wish his friends and family comfort during this difficult time.”

Barb’s final thoughts on Jim

“Jim was loyal and kind and loved life,” Barb said. “And he fought for it.”

Contact Reporter Matthew N. Wells at matthew.wells@thedailyworld.com.

Provided photo Jim sits with his best friend Ms. Douglas, a chihuahua.