James K. Taylor III, 89

James K. Taylor III was born in San Diego, on April 17, 1922. He laid down his rod and creel and turned in his hammer and saw when he passed on June 27, 2011, in Kalispell, after suffering a stroke.

Jim and Roberta spent many happy years together from the time they were introduced in 1982. Roberta and Jim hit it off from the beginning and the widow and the widower were soon partners. Roberta had lost her husband Del and Jim had lost his wife Marion, so both their losses were softened by their partnership.

An avid hunter and fisherman, Jim loved the outdoors. His passions in life included the many annual trips he and Roberta made to his favorite fishing spots in Wyoming. He fondly recollected many of the hunting trips he made with his bird dogs. In his later years, Jim, Roberta and her brother Will made a trip to fish in Alaska waters. His daughter Wanda enjoyed their last fishing trip together near her home in California; she was able to rib Jim with the knowledge that while he caught the most fish, she caught the biggest.

Jim may have been a short fellow in stature but he was the tallest man in the crowd. Jim was a kind person that was a friend to everyone he met; his heart as big as Montana itself. He was quick with a helping hand or a bit of input on how to improve the project at hand. Jim was one of those rare people that needed almost no help when he was building a project; he could do almost anything with nothing. He could talk a warped board straight. If it came to fixing things either metal or wood he would often times build a part because it wasn't available.

While Jim was a welder by trade, he never ceased to amaze everyone with the beautiful works of art he produced as a woodworker during his later retirement years. He was rightly proud of the fruits of his many hours spent working away at the remodel of the house on Spencer Road and of his pride and joy was the ability to complete his “den.”

His life was full of adventure; he would tell stories about his four years of overseas service in the Navy serving in Japan, Australia, New Zealand and other South Pacific islands during World War II.

He joined Pacific Gas & Electric Utility of California when he was discharged from the Navy and he loved recollecting the many construction and pipeline projects he worked on in his 32 years of service with them.

He fondly recalled his travels, hunts and fishing trips, from California to his beloved Wyoming, Colorado, Idaho and Montana. He had a passion for football and baseball and could talk away the night fixing America's political problems.

Jim's quirky little grin and his laughter will be missed, as will his love of homemade cookies. Jim wasn't a social butterfly but loved company that would gab with him. He loved his family very much.

He was preceded in death by his first wife, Marion McNew; sisters, Loraine Ferguson and Annette Collins; and granddaughters Kimberly Hillquist and Sheila Downs.

Jim is survived by a son, Jerry, and Donna McNew, and granddaughter, Susie Clabby, of Pinole, Calif.; granddaughter, Sharon Johnson, of Pinole; grandson, James McNew, of Prescott, Ariz.; and seven great-grandchildren; daughter, Wanda Hillquist, of Sacramento, Calif.; granddaughters, Lisa Hillquist of San Jose, Calif., and Kristy Hillquist of San Diego; and two great-grandchildren. He has many nieces and nephews. He is also survived by his extended family — wife, Roberta, of Libby; stepsons, Steve and Cherie Gunderson of Libby, and Scott and Linda Gunderson of Kalispell; and stepgrandsons, Dustin and Janel Gunderson of Kalispell, Jason Gunderson of Kalispell, and Ryan Gunderson of Colorado Springs, Colo.

Services will be at 10 am. Tuesday, July 5, at Christ Lutheran Church in Libby. Burial will be at Pine Crest Cemetery in Sandpoint, Idaho.

Memorials in lieu of flowers may be made in Jim's name to Christ Lutheran Church, the VFW, or Kootenai Pets for Life.

Arrangements are by Schnackenberg & Nelson Funeral Home in Libby.