Submitted by his wife
Jim and his wife‚ Holly‚ also owned and operated a big game hunting outfit in west-central Idaho. He was serving as President of the Idaho Outfitters and Guides Association at the time of his death.
He is survived by his wife‚ Holly‚ and two children; Virginia‚ age 11 and Nathan‚ age 7. Jim grew up in Phoenix‚ Arizona graduating from Cortez High School in 1968. He went on to college at Pasadena (California) Nazarene College on a baseball scholarship. He graduated in May 1972 with degrees in History and Spanish.
He married Holly Kliewer in May 1973 and they moved to Nampa‚ Idaho in December 1973. After receiving a teaching certificate from Northwest College‚ he taught history and Spanish for four years at Middleton High School. In 1979 he and Holly moved to McCall‚ where he began his career in firefighting on the Krassel Ranger District‚ Payette National Forest. In 1981‚ he was hired on at the McCall Smokejumper Base where he worked seasonally until his death.
