Remembering James - Help Support our Familly

I would love to be able to celebrate my dads life. Unfortunately, the last year of our lives has been dedicated to him and his health, leaving us with very little for ourselves, let alone much for my dad. I have hopes for a memorial service and a beautiful plot of land somewhere for us all to enjoy with him, his one wish for that being a tree planted. Anyone who knew my dad knows that he would do anything for you, and I don't want that to be in vain.

James Taft tragically lost his battle with cancer on August 29th at the young age of 58, after many years of struggling with his health. He had his daughter by his side every single step of the way and was surrounded by so much love constantly. James was born on July 23rd, 1966 in Mt. Vernon Washington where he resided until moving to Bellingham during middle school. He very quickly became a fan favorite turning his morning journeys to school into a social hour, where he met his long-term best friend and carried the books of pretty girls who still talk about the crush they had on him 40+ years ago. However you knew him, you will never forget him.

If you bump into anyone who knew James Taft, they will tell you the same thing. “He was the coolest, but he didn't know me all that well.” The list of people who love and adore him for everything he has done, and stood for has continued to grow at the rate he met them. And this list will continue to grow daily, as stories and memories are shared because there is no limit to how much bragging we will do on his behalf. God knows how much he loved to brag. How could he not? He is the person with all the stories that everyone tells at gatherings to sound cooler than they are, except in his case, all of them are true.

He was among a select few student-athletes at Sehome High School to lead the baseball team to be state champs in the 80s, furthering his legacy with his name still stamped in those hallways. He’s the guy who when fighting for his life, trapped under a van, after a motorcycle accident that should have killed him, says, “If this is going to take much longer, could I get a beer?”. After being told he was never going to walk again, he got up on his two crutches, fit with a full leg cast, and braved an ACDC concert perfected with flying beer bottles and a growing mosh pit. After a life of chasing girls, or more accurately, girls chasing him, rocking out to 80’s bands, he settled down with a girl he met at a softball game and had two kids that became his entire world.

Those memorable nights turned into poker tournaments with his twelve-year-old daughter after her brother went to bed, and Lord of the Ring marathons when mom was away on a business trip. He became a superhero who could do anything, well anything except razor scooter tricks on the Sehome High Schools campus in the dark. However, the injuries were well worth the entertainment of watching him fall. He will always be the dad who helped his teenage daughter sneak back in after a night out so her mom wouldn’t know because if everyone was safe it was worth it to have some fun memories and the dad who would spend hours in the game room losing horribly in Rocket League to his son who should have been doing his homework.

While raising two kids, he managed to get his bachelors degree and would have had a 4.0 if it wasn’t for one final where he got a B, something he never let himself live down. He went on to be the smartest person in the office working as an operations technician at Sterling Life for many years, until eventually residing back into a stay-at-home dad, the hardest job of all. He was the person who could do it all, and he did it while being kind and empathetic towards everyone. He treated everyone like family, even when they may have turned their backs on him, and to say he is loyal is an understatement. Anyone who knew him knew they could come to him if they were ever in trouble, and he would be there. He might complain about it the whole way, but he would be there for you, no matter what.