James McElvaney

James McElvaney, 81, of Chelan, Washington passed away on November 3, 2024.
Born in 1943 and raised in Bakersfield, California, Jim McElvaney earned a science degree at San Diego State University and spent his 20s working at the Salk Institute and later at the Kila-uea Observatory in Hawaii.
Jim first moved to Chelan in 1975 and quickly integrated into the life of the town, acting in the community theatre and opening a stained-glass studio/maker space (Dickens). Energetic and civically-minded, McElvaney was an early town booster who helped organize the very first "Ap-pleKnocker Trot".
In 1978, McElvaney met and married Chelan native, Jeanne Pomeroy, and the two of them raised four children.
McElvaney's pioneering work in environmental waste conversion systems began in Tacoma in 1982 and continued in Hawaii where he established Unisyn, a waste conversion operation on the windward side of Oahu. He would later go on to design and build a fully self-sustaining waste conversion system on Maui in the late 1990s.
Jim and Jeanne called many places home throughout their lives, but ultimately made their way back to Chelan in 2015 where Jim started his Backyard Probiotics company and became a fix-ture at area farmer's markets promoting his miraculous elixir, the product of DIY probiotic kits of his own design. As he promised to many who asked, he has handed down this legacy to Jeanne and his grandson, Kieran.
A beloved family man and kid at heart, Jim will be remembered as a person of keen intelligence, quick wit, and easy laugh. A kind man who enjoyed people and who could strike up a friendly conversation with absolutely anyone.
He leaves behind Jeanne, his wife of 46 years, four children (Nat, Anja, Joel, and Rob), and six grandchildren (Carl, Amy, Liora, Erin, Avital, and Kieran).
A private, family celebration of Jim's life will take place in spring 2025.