James Angus (Jim) Edwards, was born May 6, 1944, in Port Angeles to Angus and Florence Filion Edwards. On December 3, he departed on an eternal search for a trophy buck with family and friends by his side. Jim suffered and passed away from COPD and truly regretted his years of smoking. If he had his way, his death certificate would list “lack of venison” as the cause of death.

Jim grew up in Port Angeles, where he made lifelong friends and graduated from Port Angeles High School in 1962. After high school, he worked at ITT Rayonier mill. He took a 6-month hiatus and he and a friend toured (raised hell) all over Europe on motorcycles. He returned to Port Angeles, went back to ITT Rayonier and also joined the National Guard, serving 6 years. It was during that time that he met his future wife, Diane. They married in August 1968 and built their forever home where they lived and raised their two children, Janell and Justin.

He and his brother, John, learned to hunt and embrace the outdoors from their father and the Deep Creek boys. He got his first deer at age 12 and hunted every year thereafter. Jim loved to hunt deer and elk, and fish for steelhead. He loved the outdoors and a cold beer with friends. He was adept at building things, often on a shoestring, scrounging wherever he could.

Jim was hired by the Clallam County PUD as a groundman/truck driver in Forks. He served a 3-year lineman apprenticeship and spent the next 25 years helping keep the lights on and serving customers in the rainy, windy West End of Clallam County. He became accustomed to missing holidays and getting up in the middle of the night during a storm, often gone for 3-4 days at a time restoring power to the West End. He loved his job, life, and the crews that he worked with. During his years as a lineman, he utilized his climbing skills to rescue a Whidbey Island Navy pilot who had ejected from his plane before it crashed near the Hoh. Jim climbed 90 feet up a giant spruce tree to rescue the pilot who had a broken leg. He received an award from Governor Spellman, thanking him for his heroic efforts.

Jim and Diane were instrumental in forming Clallam County Fire District #6 (Three Rivers Fire Station). Jim served as one of the first Commissioners for 6 years and as a volunteer firefighter for many years. He never met a stranger and had a generous heart when someone needed help. It was important to Jim to share his knowledge of life skills, have a good work ethic, and be true to your word.

In the early 80s, Jim decided to build a barn and little did Diane know, horses were part of the plan. He became interested in horses and enjoyed riding through the Olympic Mountains. He loved packing the horses with like-minded friends and was often gone for 5-10 days with his “pack string”. He took Justin’s boy scout group on a trip with the horses packing all their gear! Jim was proud of his family, loved them and his home, and treasured his many friends. In 2018 Jim and Diane took both grandsons on a month-long trip to Alaska in their motorhome seeing the sights, panning for gold, halibut fishing and just spending time together.

Jim is survived by his wife Diane of 53 years, daughter Janell Schuller (Jerry), son Justin (Scarlet), and 2 grandsons Conlon and Ryan Schuller. He was preceded in death by his parents, Angus and Florence Edwards, his brother John, and brother-in-law Joel Sisson.

A scholarship has been established in Jim’s name to be given to a West End student to attend lineman school. In lieu of flowers, please consider sending a donation to Lineman Scholarship, 7673 LaPush Rd, Forks, WA 98331.

A celebration of life will be held on February 12, 2022, at 2 p.m. at the Kit’la Center-Roundhouse at LaPush Rd-Hwy 101.