James “Dart” Davis passed away at the family home in Hoquiam Feb. 19, 2023, after a brief illness. He was 83 years old.

Dart was born in Casper, Wyoming to Arthur James Davis and Marcia Jane Davis Feb. 25, 1939. He grew up in Buffalo, Wyoming, the second of three children, with sisters Margaret and Nancy. Dart graduated high school in Buffalo and attended college while working in the oil fields, before enlisting in the Army in 1961. He retired from the Army in 1981 as a Warrant Officer in Intelligence, after serving in places like Vietnam, Korea, Germany and Okinawa.

His next life chapter included farming, working in the woods and finishing his BA at The Evergreen State College, after which he taught in the New Chance program helping to retrain those who lost jobs in the county due to mill closures and as an adjunct instructor at Grays Harbor College.

A highlight for Dart was his love of the tall ship Lady Washington, which is home based in Aberdeen. He was bosun for the ship in her voyage south through the Panama Canal to the Caribbean island of St. Vincent, where the Lady Washington played the Black Pearl, the ship of Capt. Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), in “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.” Dart was one of just three crew members who stayed with the ship throughout the whole voyage, returning back to home port Aberdeen after months at sea.

Dart is survived by his wife, Jean Davis, ex-wife Kelle Metz, and sons Chris, Doug and Craig, seven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Donations in his memory can be made to the Grays Harbor Historical Seaport.

Cremation arrangements are by the Coleman Mortuary in Hoquiam.

If you wish, please record your thoughts for the family by signing the on-line register at www.colemanmortuary.net