Jim McAuliffe

1936 - 2021

"Raising a family, running a business, and making a profit with an O'Dea education" was the title of Jim McAuliffe's self-authored book about his life, which ended on August 9, 2021, when he passed away suddenly at the age of 84. His years were characterized by hard work, love and family, but above all, Jim was one of a kind.

Born on October 24, 1936, Jim graduated from Seattle's O'Dea High School, and served in the Military Police in Georgia, before embarking on an adventure to Kodiak, Alaska, where he worked in Morrison-Knudsen Company and moonlighted as a chef in the Montmarte Inn, ultimately honing his love of cooking, which would, in the years to come, become a skill he'd use to gather the people he loved.

Rosemary brought her mother to a Lebanese convention at the New Washington Hotel in Seattle where Jim was on a date with her cousin. Jim took one look at Rosemary across the table, and it was love at first sight. Jim and Rosemary were married in 1962 and honeymooned at Harrison Hot Springs in Canada, where, years later, they returned to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary with their family.

Through the years, Jim supported Rosemary as a Northshore School Board member and then a Washington State Senator and now currently a Bothell City Council member. Jim strongly believed in Rosemary's efforts to serve those who were the most vulnerable and needed a voice in the community.

Jim and Rosemary settled in Bothell, where they raised six children—five boys and one girl— Rosemary would say, "Jim taught the children about hard work and entrepreneurship," and she taught them "to be kind."

Hard work was paramount to Jim as he forged his many businesses and entrepreneurial endeavors, which included a longtime landscaping business, multiple real estate ventures, and a peat bog and soil enterprise at Top Soils Inc. and Rhode-A-Zalea Gardens. In addition, he was a longtime business partner at Chaplin Inc. Auto Sales. Jim and Rosemary also purchased a historic Hollywood Schoolhouse, established in 1912, and revitalized it to serve the community for thirty years of celebrations of marriage and life.

In their marriage, the couple purchased a late 1800's home, previously a log house, and renovated it to serve a family of six children. In the McAuliffe household, everyone was family. Jim and Rosemary welcomed their children's friends into their family and kept a long-running Sunday dinner tradition, spanning decades, where Jim cooked his favorite dishes for family and friends—namely his mother's baked French spaghetti and enormous salads—with greens from his garden, tossed in his trademark, gigantic salad bowl. As his grandson, Vaughn McAuliffe, shared, "It didn't matter who you were, to my grandpa—if you bagged groceries or owned a huge company—everyone was important to him and deserved respect."

Unique to Jim were his myriad of interests and diverse hobbies, including his expansive home garden, with his pride harvest being the Walla Walla Sweet onions which he loved to share with all of his friends, family and members of the community. He also took pride in his collection of antiques and rare vintage cars, including a 1931 Cadillac Dual Cowl Phaeton model that was once owned by the 1930's Hollywood actress Greta Garbo.

With his longstanding passion for hard work and his love of people, Jim was someone who would make friends wherever he went, whether it might be at a favorite local restaurant, such as the Maltby Café or the Northshore Senior Center, an organization he loved and financially supported.

Jim is survived by his wife, Rosemary, their six children—Jamie and his wife, Tiffini, Michael and his wife, Therese, John and his wife, Lisa, Tony and his wife, Marni, Dan and his wife, Nicki, and Elizabeth "Weeg" and her husband, Todd—as well as the couple's fifteen grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

Jim will be dearly missed and remembered by all who knew him, loved him and crossed paths with him in life—and beyond.

Rest in peace, Jim—beloved husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, colleague, mentor and friend. You loved, and were—and always will be—loved. Throughout your life, at the end of the day, you would say, "it's always my way."

A celebration of life event will be held for Jim on August 29 at 1:00 PM at the McAuliffe residence at 17617 88th Avenue NE in Bothell. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that contributions be sent in Jim's name to the Northshore Senior Center.

Jim McAuliffe In Loving Memory of a Distinguished Husband, Father, Grandfather, Businessman & Friend