James Lewis Valentine died in his sleep in the early morning of March 29, 2023 with his wife, Janie at his side. He often commented to family and friends when the song, “The Gambler” was playing that that was how he wanted to go. “The best you can hope for is to die in your sleep.” Jimmy, you got your wish! Jim was born the fourteenth and last child to Alice Louise Fry Valentine and Silver Buell Valentine at Saint Joseph Hospital in Aberdeen, Washington on October 21, 1940. He grew up on the family farm in the Wynoochee Valley. He had a happy childhood filled with lots of friends and family. He was blessed to have his mom’s brother and sister live in a little house on the farm too. Whenever he got into too much mischief at home he would escape to Uncle Bob and Aunt Dora Fry’s place. When he threw the basketball at his brother, Clarence, and broke the big picture window, he spent three days over there to allow time for things to cool off!
Jim’s cousin Mark Valentine said that Jim was the only person he ever knew who knew at age six what he wanted to be when he grew up, and he became that, a log truck driver. Jim started driving off road for his Uncle Howard Valentine at age 17 after graduating from Montesano High School class of 1958. He drove for Simpson at Grisdale, but moved on to work for Anderson Middleton for 25 years. When A&M closed, he worked for Ed Lindstrom, Earl Whiting, his cousin and good buddy Mike Valentine in Alaska, and finally Del Carter. When Jim retired in 1998 he began working part time for Whitney’s moving cars and doing dealer trades until late 2022. He loved it!
Jim married Pamela Smith on June 28, 1963 at the United Methodist Church in Montesano. They bought the property across the road from the farm where Jim grew up. Pam and Jim had three children James Junior, Edward, and Airica. The family loved camping at Soap Lake and Lake Isabell with family and friends. Many weekends were spent driving around the loop. They took family vacations every year. Long weekends always provided an opportunity to go camping.
Jim and Pam were married for 52 years when Pam died suddenly on January 24, 2016. Jim married Janie Southard Brumfield on February 18, 2017. They too were married in the Montesano United Methodist Church where Jim and Janie could be found almost every Sunday, first at Adult Sunday School and then church. Jim and Janie vacationed often with their kids and grandchildren at various places all around the United States.
Jim was preceded in death by his parents and his seven brothers Vernon, Lyle, Richard “Buck,” Gerald “Gov” Roger, Harold, and Clarence, as well as his six sisters Fern Anensen, Eunice Colombo, Ernestine Wolfe, Dores Jarvis, Neva Schmidt, and Alice Duncan. He was most recently preceded by his sister-in-law Ruth Valentine.
Jim leaves behind his wife, Janie, his children and grandchildren James Jr. (Derek and Quintin), Ed and wife Sami (Wyatt and Ella), his daughter Airica and husband Paul Brumfield (Steven and Daniel), stepdaughters Jenny and husband Matthew Causey, Susan and husband Ronald Hammond (Levi, Vivian and Ava), and a very special Brittain Daniels who Pam and Jim babysat. Jim will be missed terribly.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Jim’s memory to Montesano United Methodist Church, 401 East Spruce Avenue, Montesano, WA 98563, or to the charity of your choice. A celebration of life is set for Friday, April 14 at noon at the Montesano United Methodist Church with a luncheon to follow. After the luncheon, at approximately 3pm, there will be an internment at Wynoochee Valley Cemetery for Jim and Pam Valentine. If you would like to wear red in honor of Jim’s favorite color, feel free to do so.
