April 15, 1934 - July 05, 2022
Jim passed away at Providence Holy Family Hospital at 4:30 AM on July 5, 2022, after complications stemming from pneumonia. He was 88 years old. He is survived by his wife of 36 years, Robbin; brother Joel Wadsworth, son Ron Flood (Jake), daughter Stephanie Jacquard-Capps (Don), and grandson Jared Jacquard. If you were fortunate enough to meet Jim, you became a friend. Jim was born April 15, 1934, in Tacoma, WA to Neil Edward and Elnora May (Lockridge) Wadsworth. Washington State was always home to Jim except when he enlisted in the Navy in 1952 and served during the Korean War in the USS Valley Forge. He received an honorable discharge in November 1960. He returned back home to Washington, this time to Chehalis where he joined the Washington State Patrol in communication on December 7, 1960. His leisure time was spent fishing. Only 5 years after the “angling bug” bit him, he won the Fenwick Master Fisherman Award (October 1971) with only 30 awarded nationwide per year. Jim’s award was for a 24lb steelhead he caught on the Cowlitz River. Jim’s advice: “Watch the old-timers and learn what they are doing. I learned a lot.” Jim accepted a transfer with the WSP to Yakima as the District 3 Communications Manager, which encompassed over 900 miles. He met Robbin on October 7, 1986, and they were married on November 27th. He got the “boating bug” after a trip to Lake Roosevelt. Jim decided to retire after 32 years with the Patrol to give them more time on the water. He and Robbin eventually moved to Keller Ferry, north of Wilbur, then to Spokane about 10 years ago to be close to health facilities. The 2 dogs that he dearly loved don’t understand and miss Jim so much. They will see him again. The friends that he made over the years, he had until the end. His family is abiding by his wishes and he will return to Lake Roosevelt which he so dearly loved.
