James A. Maricle, 90, of Bellingham, passed away on Feb. 20, 2019.
He was born Feb. 11, 1929, to Ralph E. Sr. and Bernice (Burnell) Maricle on their farm near Everson. Jim attended Roeder Grade School and graduated from Mount Baker High School in 1945. He then studied at Western Washington College of Education and the University of Washington, graduating in 1950 with a degree in chemistry. After graduation, he was drafted into the U.S. Army to serve in Korea. After an honorable discharge, he started his career in the oil refining industry in the Los Angeles area. Through an army buddy, Dave Erickson, he was introduced to Evelyn Bower, a friend of Dave’s wife. They hit it off and were married on Oct. 2, 1954, in Ventura, California. They spent their honeymoon driving north to Jim’s new job at the Mobil refinery in Ferndale, Washington. He worked in several positions at the refinery, including the lab, engineering, economics and planning, ending his career in 1984 as the environmental coordinator.
While Jim and Evie were busy raising three children, Jim kept up several hobbies that he had acquired over the years. As an avid “ham” radio operator, Jim was best known for earning awards for working all countries of the world. He was an active member of the Mt. Baker Amateur Radio Club where he earned a reputation as an “antenna guy,” which explains why he was always sending his boys up the trees in his yard to hang his latest antenna invention. Jim always had a love affair with cars, which led him to restoration of antique cars and a membership in the Antique Automobile Restorers Club of Bellingham. His pride and joy was the restoration of a 1929 Model A Ford. Other cars came along, which led to his shop becoming known as “Jim’s Old Ford Garage.”
He and Evie loved to travel abroad as well as locally. They spent many a day out in the San Juan Islands and the Georgia Strait on their pleasure boat. They also attended Dixieland Jazz festivals. Jim loved to fish, and many family vacations were spent taking awful roads into the interior of British Columbia to beautiful, well-stocked, remote lakes. He also made sure to grow a garden every year that provided most of the vegetables for the family dinner table.
Jim was predeceased by his parents, all four of his brothers, and his son-in-law.
He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Evie, at the family home; two sisters-in-law, Delores Maricle of Everson and Jean Maricle of Winnabow, North Carolina; his three children: Rick (Janet) Maricle of Bellingham, Cindy Valeri of Wenatchee, and Rob (Kim) Maricle of Boring, Oregon; also nine grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews.
A memorial service for Jim will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 3, in Rome Community Bible Church, 2720 Mt. Baker Highway.
To share your memories of Jim, please visit www.molesfarewelltributes.com.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Lighthouse Mission, P.O. Box 548, Bellingham, WA 98227.
