James Earhart McCauley, 93
James Earhart McCauley, 93, passed away on March 2, 2010, in Sandpoint, Idaho.
Memorial services will be held at 2 p.m. on Monday, March 8, 2010, at the Alpine Vista Senior Apartments in Sandpoint.
Jim was born on July 30, 1916, in Tacoma, Wash., to Thomas and Edna McCauley. He attended Saint Martin’s College in Lacey, Wash., after which he went to work for the Civilian Conservation Corps and pitched for their baseball team. Later in life, he played on a semi-pro baseball team.
Jim began his career with the Boeing Commercial Airplane Company in the Seattle area, where he met Dollie Koser, soon to become his wife. He stayed with the Boeing Company for 44 years working in engineering and in the purchasing department. He served as an on-site technical liaison to key Boeing suppliers in Rochester, N.Y., and Southern California.
In 1958, he returned to Seattle and purchased a new house in Bellevue, Wash., that was the family home for 45 years. In his long career with Boeing, he rose to the position of assistant director of purchasing. He was a very respected manager, who always found time to talk with his employees at all levels.
He took his family on several memorable vacation trips to beaches in Washington, Oregon and California, where they enjoyed camping and searching for agates. Trips were also made to places such as Donner Pass, Calif., where he loved to search for Indian and pioneer artifacts. He developed a love for mining sapphires in Montana.
He and Dollie purchased a home in Sapphire Village, Mont., where they spent their summers. He also enjoyed watching sports and tinkering on various projects at his house (the engineer in him). He had a great sense of humor. He was a strong believer in Jesus Christ and was a true American patriot.
His wife of 62 years, Dollie, passed away in 2005. Before she died, he and Dollie lived in retirement homes in western Washington and after she died, he relocated to Idaho.
He is survived by his four children, Donna Lind of Bothell, Wash., Mark McCauley of Lakeland, Fla., Steve McCauley of Las Vegas, Nev., and Linda Schofield of Sandpoint. He was blessed with nine grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Dollie; and his sister, Catherine Pierce of Mount Vernon, Wash.
Lakeview Funeral Home in Sandpoint, Idaho, is handling the arrangements. Please visit www.lakeviewfuneral.com and sign Jim’s guest book.