JAMES REID GREER

James “Jim” Reid Greer, Jr., of Shelter Bay, died on Tuesday, August 19 surrounded by his loving family.

Jim was born in Los Angeles on October 10, 1938. He reminisced that he had a great childhood participating in basketball and track for Compton High School, playing the trombone for the Long Beach Boys Club Drum and Bugle Corps, Huntington Park Youth Band and the Compton Junior College Band. Jim loved that he was able to play in bands with his father for the Long Beach Elks and veterans’ bands as well as in the Pasadena Rose Parade.

After graduation from Compton High School in 1957, Jim started work for the Bell System Phone Company, working many areas in California. People close to him heard many fun stories of when he worked putting in phones for a number of movie stars ... and Jim loved to tell stories.

His phone company job took him and his family Colorado, where he worked in the Ute Pass area in small towns like Cripple Creek, Woodland Park, Lake George, Green Mountain Falls and the Pike’s Peak area. Also, he had a top secret security clearance to work at Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado for the North American Air Defense Command, or NORAD.

Jim left Colorado and moved to Washington to be near his children, who lived in the Northwest. He continued to work for the Bell System, working from Tacoma to North Seattle.

While working in Bellevue, he met Diana Soderstrom, who also worked for the phone company. After a long courtship, they were married on August 15, 1992 in a double ceremony with Diana’s parents, who were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary.

Jim and Diana vacationed in Mexico, explored the San Juan Islands in their 28-foot Chris Craft boat, “Lady Di,” and later had land adventures throughout the United States in their motor home.

They purchased their home in Shelter Bay in 1999 and retired from the phone company in 2001.

Jim worked as a greeter at Roozengaarde and had so much fun he applied to do it again for the 2014 tulip season, but his cancer would not allow him that second chance.

He has a younger sister, Beverly, who resided with her husband Hal in Port Townsend.

Jim married and had three children, David of Long Beach, Washington, Jodie Keiser of Central Point, Oregon and Heidi Miller of Seaside, Oregon.

Jim is survived by his loving wife, Diana, of La Conner, his son and daughter-in-law David and Torrie Greer of Port Townsend; his daughter and son-in-law Jodie and Jeff Keiser of Central Point, Oregon, and his daughter and son-in-law Heidi and Charlie Miller of Seaside, Oregon. He also leaves his sister Beverly and her husband Hal of Port Townsend, his stepson Douglas and his wife Jennifer and stepson Randy and his wife Katrina. He also has grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

You may share your memories and sign Jim’s online guest register at http://www.kernfuleralhome.com

What a wonderful life you lived Jim...you should be proud of all your lifetime accomplishments.

Celebration of life will be held at the Shelter Bay Clubhouse, 1000 Shoshone Drive, La Conner on Saturday, Sept. 6 at 4:30 p.m. with a potluck following the service.