Jim George

Jim George, a lifetime resident of Merritt on Stevens Pass, WA, has left his beloved mountain to join his Lord and Savior. Jim, 82 passed away November 14, 2021 after a long battle with Alzheimer's. His family had hoped to care for him at home until he passed and we did care for him until the last 2 nights, when his needs changed and it became clear it was best for him to be in the hospital. Jim was born in Leavenworth, WA on Jun 13, 1939 to Steve and Harriett George. He grew up at Merritt, WA in the mountains he loved. He loved it there so much; he lived, worked, raised his family, retired and spent all but a few months of his 82 years living in the mountains he so dearly loved. Jim attended the one room school at Merritt until it was destroyed by a snow slide in the winter of 1949 - 50. The school and piano slid down the mountain, across the highway and into Nason Creek! Thankfully, Jim's Dad kept him home that day because of all the snow. Jim then attended another one room school house in Winton, as did all three of his children and several grandchildren also attended. In the 9th grade, he attended Leavenworth High School and graduated in 1957. Jim served in the United States Army Reserves from 1957 - 1963. He worked summers for the Great Northern Railroad until graduation and then he went to work for them full time. Initially he worked side-by-side with his Dad, Steve and Uncle, Louie George, whom had both earlier immigrated from Macedonia to the United States. Jim also had the opportunity to work with his beloved son, Steve and nephew Paul George. During his many years working for the railroad, he went through 2 mergers (BN, BNSF) and retired after 46 years in 2001. Jim was a happy man. He loved his job and excelled at it. His men loved working for him and formed lifelong friendships. The railroad officials called him, "The King of the Mountain." Jim was a man of his word and high integrity. He was a highly respected man of wisdom and understanding and even though he was a man of few words, when he spoke, people listened. Even when he was silent; he had the ability to influence others. He was a humble man and wouldn't like us telling all of these nice things about him. He will be missed by all who had the privilege of knowing him, especially his family. Jimmy George, as everyone called him, met the love of his life, Sharen Zufall in 1957. He told his friends, "That's the woman I'm going to marry." They married on May 10, 1958. They were true soul mates and lived 63.5 happy, loving years together. They welcomed their first daughter, Tamera in March of 1959, their only son, Steve in 1960 and daughter Traci in 1965. Jim was totally dedicated to and loved his family fiercely. He worked all day, but was always at their school activities. His family was always his priority. He loved Mom more than anything in the entire world. When Michael (son-in-law) was baptizing Mom, Steve, Tamera and grandson Jimmy in Nason Creek, several years ago, Dad wasn't going to join in, he didn't like to go into the water deeper than his knees, having never learned to swim. As Mom walked out to Michael in the creek, Dad ran down the bank, into the water and waited. When Mom came up out of the water baptized, Dad went straight to Michael saying, "Wherever she's going, I'm going too!" He came up out of the water shouting "Jesus." He decided he didn't want to risk not spending eternity with Mom. He loved her more than anything. He was our Rock and our lives will never be the same without him. We were able to enjoy our retirement for many years prior to Jim's illness. We traveled to Mexico, Arizona, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Las Vegas, Reno, took an Alaskan Cruise and loved spending time together on the Oregon Coast. Jim bought a tractor when he retired and could always be seen doing things on his tractor until the last two years of his life. He loved hunting and fishing for most of his life. A friend of his, he fished with in his youth talked about trading fishing poles with Jim to see if he could catch more fish, but Jim out fished him with his own pole! Jim loved classic cars and was an avid collector of old classic cars he could restore with his son, Steve. They restored a 1957 Chevrolet Belair Convertible and was working on a 32 Ford Coupe when he became sick. Jim was blessed with a visit from his first cousin Nico, (90 ), Nico's daughter Xanthy and granddaughter Carla from Romania in 2017. It was the first time they met and they stayed with us for a week. Nico told Jim things about his Dad and family prior to them immigrating to the US, why they moved to Romania and many other things he didn't know. It was a wonderful visit. Jim had a great love for our family pets. The last year before he passed, he couldn't remember their names and they fondly became "little brown dog, little kitty and big girl." They gave him such comfort in his final days. His little kitty would sit on his lap, the dogs were always close by and he would pet them and talk to them for hours. Jim is survived by his loving wife of 63.5 years, Sharen George. Children: Tamera (Michael) Danforth, Steve (Vanessa) George and Traci (Bill) Kinnett. Grandchildren: Jessi George, Jimmy George, Kristi Stickles Gert, Sharli Horling and Kaylee Kinnett. Step-Granddaughter: Amber Martinez. Great Grandchildren: Joey, Jayce and Jordyn (Stickles) West, Bram, Ryker and Amira Horlings and Step-Great Granddaughters: Gabby Lee and Nova'Lee Michael Cherry, Sister-in-law: Judy Carlson and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins, he deeply loved. Jim was preceded in death by his parents, brother: Paul George, Sisters: Mary Alexander, Mickey Taylor and Ozzie Fisher, nephew: Steve George and a very special niece Diane George. The family would like to give a special thanks to Hospice for all of their help and care in Jim's final days and to Dixie, the Hospice Nurse who helped so much on his last day at home and transitioning him to the hospital. Thank You to his step-granddaughter Amber who helped guide us through the medication process, communicate with Hospice, confirm we were making the right choices and answer endless questions. To our special friends and neighbors Aaron and Dee, I couldn't have done it without you. You two stepped up when you didn't have to and did so much to help me care for Jim. Without your help we would have had to move to town long ago. Thank you both for helping us keep him in his beloved mountains until the very end. Thank you Patty, our special friend and Jim's caregiver, for the wonderful, loving, dedicated care you have given Jim these last few years. Jim loved you and lit up when you came to spend the day with him. You were so animated and fun and it brought such joy to him. In the last week you taught us so much and we will forever be grateful. Memorials can be made to the Wenatchee Humane Society and the Alzheimer's Foundation. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to what Jim loved most and to finding a cure. Thank-you. Wenatchee Humane Society https://www.wenatcheehumane.org/donate-online Alzheimer's Foundation of America https://alzfdn.org/support-us/donate/

Jim George

June 13, 1939 - November 14, 2021