Norris "Jim" McHeffey

1926 - 2022

January 1, 1926 -

September 14, 2022

Jim was born January 1, 1926, in Burlington, WA, the son of Norris McHeffey and Myrtle Stewart McHeffey. He died in Texarkana, Texas September 14, 2022. He was proceeded in death by his mother, father, his sister Maxine and his loving wife Helen.

As a child, Jim lived in Edison, Bow and Blanchard in Skagit County. The family moved to Port Angeles in 1934 and from there to Olympia in 1936. Jim attended high school in Olympia until his junior year when the family moved again, this time to Port Orchard, Washington. He graduated from South Kitsap High School in 1944. After working in the Puget Sound Shipyard, he was drafted into the Army. He had previously signed up for naval duty, but the Battle of the Bulge turned all recruits into soldiers.

Jim spent his Army years as a member of the 158th Infantry Regimental Combat team, better known at the Bushmasters. When the war was over, and the Bushmasters disbanded, he was sent to the 7th Base Post Office, where he was First Chief Clerk of the 7th Base and later became First Sergeant, the position he held until discharge.

Following the war, Jim enrolled at Olympic Junior College in Bremerton. During his second year, he married Helen Elizabeth. After he graduated from OJC they moved to Bellingham where he attended Western Washington College, now Western Washington University. Before graduation, he was interviewed by and accepted a teaching position in the Edmonds School District. In 1959, He earned his M.Ed. from Western and in 1972, his D.Ed. from the University of Maryland. He spent his entire education career as a member of the Edmonds School District as a 5th grade teacher, Instructional Service Teacher, Elementary Principal, Director of Elementary Education, and retired as an Area Superintendent.

He is survived by his three children, Jim (Debi), Jeff (Debra) and Julie (David), his 6 grandchildren, 12 great grandchildren and 6 great-great grandchildren, and his close companion Larry who cared for Jim the last 23 years.

At his request, there will be no funeral. He asked that his ashes be mixed with those of Helen, then entombed at Mount Tahoma National Cemetery in Kent, WA.