Service Details

A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, August 8th at 2pm in Olympia, WA.
Please email jimlordmemorial@gmail.com for the address of the service.

The Story

After a very full life, Jim Lord passed away on March 21, 2015 with his children by his side, just one week after his 85th birthday. He was born in Renton, Washington on March 14, 1930 to Andy and Olga (Panaanen) Lord. His 5 year old brother Philip lovingly nicknamed him “Corky”. He graduated in 1948 from Renton High School. In 1952 he earned 2 Bachelor degrees from EWSC (now EWU) in Journalism and Education. He earned a Master’s degree in Education from UW in 1960.

Jim’s passion for journalism began in his teens. He was a sports writer for the Renton Chronicle from 1944-1948, and Sports Information Director at EWU from 1948-1952. His position as a sports journalist at the Seattle PI helped to pay for college, and you could always find two copies of the newspaper on his doorstep every morning: the PI and the Times. After college Jim became a teacher, of which his career spanned from 1952-1990. He taught all levels of school (elementary- university) in King, Thurston, and Pierce counties as well as Germany. In 1954 his passion for sports and teaching evolved into a long coaching career: basketball, baseball, football, wrestling, soccer, track, golf, and tennis.

In 1957 Jim was recruited as the Public Information Officer at the Department of Commerce and Economic Development, a role that was integral in promoting Washington State tourism. He moved to Olympia for the job, where he met Rita Neubauer, whom he married and had 5 beautiful children with. The family would often drive from Olympia to Renton to visit Grandma Olga, singing songs the entire car ride. Memories of singing “Mares eat oats and does eat oats,” and “Ain’t gonna rain no more, no more” are some of their favorite childhood memories.

Jim thoroughly loved his Olympia community, and dedicated his time to organizing many local events. From 1958-1960 Jim created and managed the Olympia Games and in 1959 was General Manager for Capitol Lake Fair and started the Twilight Parade. While this time was very rewarding, a desire to teach overseas prompted him to return to teaching. In 1961 Jim was accepted by the Dept. of the Army and assigned to West Germany in the Stuttgart School District. From 1961-1965 he taught physical education and journalism and coached basketball, wrestling, and track. Jim fell in love with Germany during his time there, and was able to visit again later in life.

In 1977 Jim reconnected with his childhood sweetheart, Patricia Ann McCaslin. They were married later that year, and he gained 5 more children. Jim and Patricia moved to Irving Texas in 1996, where Jim retired and had time to focus on his hobbies. Jim had a special passion for genealogy and history. His research gained him an impressive catalogue of family history. He enjoyed photography, oil painting, and catching up with old friends (especially at reunions). Family was the most important thing to him, and there was nothing he loved more than his grandchildren (aka his sugar lumps). He could always be counted on for a dollar for a sweet treat, asking only in return to make his day with a put-put (kiss on the cheek).

Jim was preceded in death by his parents, brother Phil, and beloved wife Patricia. He is survived by his children - Cindy Lord of Tumwater, Stephen