James (Jim) Stanton died peacefully at home after a long battle with dementia, surrounded by his loving wife Diane, friends and family on January 25, 2024.
Jim was born July 1, 1935, to Frank and Adeline Stanton in St. Paul, Minnesota. After graduating from high school, Jim joined the United States Army where he was stationed in Greenland. In 1956, he left the army and moved back to Minnesota and started his long career at the phone company. Jim held multiple positions at the phone company, but his favorite job was working as a lineman climbing telephone poles. During that same time, he worked as a school bus driver and was a member of the school board and PTA, along with running a restaurant at the Minnesota State Fair.
In 1986, Jim moved west to sunny southern California, where he met and fell in love with Diane Brown. Jim and Diane were married on Valentine’s Day in 1988.
In 1993, they moved to Welches, Oregon and told friends they had found paradise. Jim loved hiking, kayaking, camping and working in the yard. He became active in the Welches community and in his church as a member of the church council. Jim also loved having coffee with his friends every week.
His sense of humor and smile will be greatly missed.
He is survived by his wife Diane, his children (from a previous marriage) Guy, Mike, Debbie (Downs), Stephanie (Ryan), and Doug, 17 grandchildren, his sisters Maureen and Marge and his brother Keith. He was preceded in death by his brother Bruce.
Interment will be held at Willamette National Cemetery in a private ceremony at a later date.
A celebration of life for Jim will be held at 3:00 pm at The Church on the Mountain in Welches on July 20th. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Mt Hood Hospice.
my thoughts, other careers came careening by and my passion to write was placed on the back burner. Now that I am back into the art of the written word, it is an outlet that now has an even bigger and better place in my life.
Although the journalistic approach to writing is a non-biased and complete factual account of names, places and events, becoming a staff writer for the Mountain Times has realigned my focus on writing and is now something I do often as a fun, creative outlet. With several short stories, poems and a novel saved for future adventures, being able to express myself with words is something that is both a blessing and a curse. The fear of failure and judgment that comes with putting your imagination on paper can be a very nerve-racking experience, but I have found it is better to put those ideas into characters, quotes and a storyline rather than let them go to waste.
As a resident of the Mt. Hood Villages for over a decade now, I have grown to love and appreciate this most beautiful area in so many ways. As a local business owner of Coffee House 26, I have seen the many ups and downs that come with living in a tourist destination. During our shutdown with Covid I decided to take my love for reading and writing and incorporate it into my coffee shop, with the addition of new and used books for sale. Sharing both my love for coffee and reading was a dream come true, and it truly seemed to ignite a passion in others, too. Those passions came in the form of a book club, book donations and a theme every month for showcased novels.
With each passing month as a local journalist, I am reminded why I keep the art of writing a huge part of my life. Each interview, article, draft and final proof continues to inspire me to dig deeper into our community for other passionate artists and newsworthy stories. And while being a business owner, journalist and reading enthusiast is a large part of who I am both professionally and creatively, I will always be Amber Lynn, Youngstown, Ohio native, Mt. Hood local, meatball makin’ cat mom at heart.