James Dee Brigham

James Dee Brigham,70, a life long Kitsap County resident, passed away on October 16, 2014 at his home in Port Orchard, Washington.
Jim was born in Vancouver, Washington on April 29, 1944 to Clare Dee Brigham and Ruby Virginia Bell Brigham. The family lived in Gorst where his father operated the family business, The Bayview Mill.
He attended school in South Kitsap County, first at Pleasant Valley Elementary School, then Marcus Whitman Junior High and graduated from South Kitsap High School in 1964. He had many friends from his school days, friendships which continued throughout his life.
During his school years he participated in Boy Scouts of America, Choir where he sang tenor and track. Summers during his teen years were spent in San Francisco working for his aunt and uncle at the Plantation Inn. He worked summers in order to earn money for the first of many, many cars he would eventually own.
After high school Jim joined the U.S. Army. He attended basic training at Fort Benning in Georgia and then was stationed in Furth, West Germany. He was a glass glazier and performed auto maintenance. After leaving the Army, he joined the National Guard and was honorably discharged in 1973.
He was a bit of a free spirit in his work life and was willing to learn a new job when necessary. He didn’t have a consistent career but worked a variety of jobs including positions at Todd’s Shipyard, Simpson Timber Company, Shelton School District and Pan American Airlines. He earned a certification in apartment management, worked as a taxi shuttle driver, and at the time of his death he was a greeter at the Poulsbo Walmart.
Jim had many hobbies including stamp collecting, miniature dollhouse building, back packing, camping and traveling. While working for Pan Am, he had many opportunities to travel including trips to Hawaii, Europe and Turkey.
His true passion though was cars. He loved to build model cars, shop for and test drive real cars and buy a new one every few years. And he wasn’t partial to makes, brands or styles. He owned cars, trucks, trailers and campers. He had Fords, Chevys, Mercurys, Nissans and Volkswagens. If it had four wheels, he wanted it.
Jim is survived by his children Dionna D. Stewart (Steve) of Federal Way, Jamie D. Patterson (John) of Port Orchard and Joey D. Brigham (Jeanine) of Bonney Lake. He is also survived by six grandsons Alexander Stewart (Lavender), Zachary Stewart, Bailey Brigham, Jacob Brigham, Ean Patterson and Joey (JD) Brigham, Jr. In addition, he is survived by two sisters, Lynda Jackson (Randy) of New Meadows, ID and Bertie Brigham of Port Orchard, WA and several nephews, great-nephews and great-nieces.
He had a full life with close family and friends and will be dearly missed.
A celebration of life service was held on October 19th. He will be buried in a private service.