James Louis Thurman

1935 - 2022

James Louis Thurman died on June 17, 2022, after fighting cancer for several years. He was 87.

He was born on April 21, 1935, in Oakland, California, to Jesse and Mildred Thurman. When Jim was very young, his father left the family. During World War II, Mildred sent Jimmy (as she called him) outside the city to live with her twin sister Wilma and husband Bill. In his early days, Jim had a paper route (and was frequently robbed of his takings), milked cows, washed dishes in restaurants and even worked at the famous Mel's Drive-In.

In April 1955, Jim was hearing about Alaska and decided to go there. He was told the best way to get started on the road North was to go to a popular bar on First Avenue in Seattle and find a ride.

Jim had a panel truck, but he was underage at 19, as Canada required someone in the vehicle be at least 21. He went to Seattle and put the word out at the bar that he was looking for riders. He slept in his truck behind the bar that night, and the next day an "old timer" volunteered to go with him to Anchorage. The two headed up the highway, and Jim would turn 20 along the way. After dropping off his rider in Anchorage, Jim traveled to Fairbanks on his own.

Jim, or just "Thurman," as he came to be known, found his first job in Alaska milking cows in the mornings at the university's farm. He filled the rest of the days' hours with other part time jobs around town. During his first winter, he met a young lady named Leta Ann Seitz, and they would be married in May 1956. Their marriage lasted 60 years, until Leta's death in 2016.

Thurman would work a variety of jobs: driving a honey bucket route, hauling trash, moving furniture and others. One summer he created a partnership called Gopher Construction, a company that installed septic boxes and sewer hookups around town. His partner sold out after the first year, and Thurman continued on his own. A second business was Jim's Janitorial. Gopher Construction would fade away, but the janitorial business remained until the pipeline boom.

In 1959, Leta gave birth to the couple's first son, Clifford Louis.

About 1960, Thurman was working with David Rasley on a construction project in town, and the pair decided to form a new partnership. This company was named Earth Movers of Fairbanks. Dave became ill in 1961 and had to bow out of the partnership. Jim and Leta continued on with the company.

In 1962 the couple had a second son, David James.

As the 1960s moved along, Earth Movers grew. A shop was built at 925 Aurora Drive. In 1968, the Thurman's built a house next door to the shop, and that would become the family home for the next 49 years.

The couple started a Ski-Doo dealership, Aurora Snowmachine, that was located out in front of the house on Aurora Drive. The plan was to move dirt in the summer, and sell Ski-Doos in the winter, and they did just that.

The 1970s began with tragedy for the Thurman family, as son Clifford was struck by a car out in front of the home and died from his injuries at a Seattle hospital.

On Jim's birthday in 1971, Leta gave birth to a daughter, Deborah Ann.

Working to take advantage of the economic boom, Jim and his good friend Jack Richardson created partnerships to distribute heavy equipment and develop industrial and commercial real estate around the state. Late in the decade, Thurman would begin building the Shannon Park Subdivision, where he lived his last few years.

As the trans-Alaska pipeline system construction grew near, Earth Movers grew as well. The company built the TAPS Fairbanks pipe yard (where Walmart, Lowes, and the other big box stores sit today), and a joint venture with his old employer, H&S Warehouse, was formed. Ray Karns, who Jim had worked alongside years earlier, of H&S now running the joint venture, the company managed the Fairbanks pipe yard, warehouses and facilities up and down the pipeline.

Later, Earth Movers would become Alyeska's heavy equipment maintenance contractor, a contract the company proudly and fiercely held for over 15 years.

In the late 1970s, Thurman began placer mining north of town. He called gold mining a disease, and he had it. The mining was small scale by Earth Movers' standards, usually just a few men in one location. Thurman mined around Interior Alaska, including the Eureka Creek area by Manley Hot Springs.

The pipeline boom was over when the 1980s rolled around, but there was still plenty of work. The most publicly visible project for Earth Movers of that decade is likely the Johansen Expressway, which runs next to the old shop and Thurman home on Aurora Drive. In 1986, Jim joined a small group of Fairbanks businessmen, and they founded Denali State Bank.

In 1996, Earth Movers ended its construction era and turned exclusively to mining.

In 2002, Jim was diagnosed with a form of tongue cancer and was certain his life was over. After a long period outside for treatment and recovery, Jim and Leta were back by spring for another mining season.

Leta became ill around 2014 and passed away two years later. For 60 years, she and Jim had worked together, building the businesses, raising their family.

In spring of 2019 Jim was diagnosed with malignant melanoma. The prognosis was "maybe 6 months." In 2020, after an experimental treatment as part of a clinical trial, Thurman was able to get in one last season of mining. One disease brought him great rewards, the other would take his life.

During its 60-year run, Earth Movers plowed snow, dug basements, built roads, runways, streets, railways, underground utilities, highways and expressways and more throughout Alaska, from coast to coast. At its peak, the company would be one of the largest privately held construction companies in the state. Employees coined the phrase "Thurmanized." Being Thurmanized was to enjoy the sort of controlled chaos Thurman could generate, to fully embrace the hectic work environment and the hours and sacrifices it demanded. Thurmanized was a sort of "the journey is the goal" philosophy.

Jim and Leta were rightly proud of the company's success and the many hard working people that made it all possible. Jim was especially grateful for "the best partners a guy could ever have": Dave Rasley, Jack Richardson and Ray Karns.

During their years in Alaska, Jim and Leta Thurman enjoyed a close circle of friends who supported them through the tough times, laughed and played with them in the good times, and enriched their lives in the Last Frontier. These friends supported Jim in the years after Leta's death, and they will always be a part of an extended Fairbanks family.

Having worked on a dairy farm, Thurman was something of an animal lover, and he always had a dog or two. Over the years he kept a few chickens, geese and even ducks. Once he was given a pig by his employees. Thurman named the pig Rosie. Jim always teased Leta about getting a cow or two, but she put the word out that nobody had better give him one those, or they'd answer to her. He never got that cow.

Jim Thurman was a devoted husband, father, grandfather and so much more. He was a unique individual, a character whose eccentricities could frustrate you and capture you at the same time. We will cherish our time with him for the rest of our days.

Jim was predeceased by his son Cliff and his wife Leta. He is survived by his son David, his wife Wendy and their daughters Keeley and Kiera; his daughter Deborah, her husband Randy, and their children Anthony and Makayla; and his brother-in-law Harlan Seitz.

Jim requested donations in lieu of flowers to be made to Alaska Center for Children and Adults in Fairbanks. Condolences can be sent to Debby Thurman-Hunt, 812 Joyce Drive, Fairbanks, Alaska 99701.

Funeral services will be held Thursday, July 7, 2022, at the First Presbyterian Church, 547 Seventh Ave., Fairbanks, Alaska.