James Harvill Jr.

07/20/1943 - 02/06/2010

HARVILL, James Walker, Jr. (Age 66) Passed away peacefully the morning of February 6, 2010 from lung cancer. He was born on July 20, 1943 to James, Sr. and Beverly Harvill (now Bussell) in Washington, D.C. He was a loving anddevoted son, husband, father, grandfather, great- grandfather, uncle, cousin, friend and boss. He was loved by all who had the pleasure of knowing him. Jim graduated from North Central High School in Spokane in 1960. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1961 and was deployed to Vietnam and the Philippines. He made his home in Alexandria, V.A. during that time, eventually returning to the Spokane, WA area for the rest of his adult life where he raised his four children. Jim worked for US West (now Qwest) for 30 years, retiring in 1995. He joined Sprint PCS in 1996 and launched the Spokane market, remaining with the company until 2009. He bred and raised Arabian horses in Elk, WA and Deer Park, WA and wasPresident of the Inland Empire Arabian Horse Club. Jim loved music,playing guitar and banjo. He was a PRCA rodeo and PBR bull ridingenthusiast, loved K-12 girl's basketball, State 'B' girl's basketball,watching Gonzaga men's basketball and NCAA basketball games. Heenjoyed musical and operatic productions, and was a black belt shopper. Most of all, he loved to spend time at his ranch with his wife, Mary and daughter, Lesley. Throughout his illness, Jim remained optimistic andpoised, well-exceeding his prognosis because of his will to live, positiveoutlook, graceful, gentle and strong spirit. He will be greatly missed. Jim is survived by wife Mary, of Deer Park; his mother, Beverly Bussell of West Point, VA; sisters Robin DeSantis of West Point, VA, and Linda Martin (Laura Nichols) of Rockville, MD; daughters Kim Leffler (Vince) of Spokane, WA;Melissa Brown (Chris) of Stratham, NH, son Chris Harvill (Stephanie) of Pittsburgh, PA; and Lesley Dawson, Deer Park, WA; granddaughters Kristi Steele (Jason) and Corrine Leffler of Spokane; Samantha and Alison Harvill of Pittsburgh, PA; grandson Lucas Brown of Stratham, NH; and great-grandsons Aiden and Evan Steele of Spokane, WA, and numerous other loved ones. The family would like to thank the staff and Dr. Leonard Vanderbosch at Avalon Care Center for their kind, compassionate care; the staff and doctors at Holy Family Hospital, Northern Idaho Advanced Care Hospital and St. Luke's Rehab; Doctors Andrew Githiaga, James Bonvallet, Todd Green, Brent Maughan and Joseph Rosales. These doctors wereespecially outstanding throughout the duration of Jim's illness. The memorial service will be held at the Gonzaga University Chapel, located on the 3rd Floor of College Hall Friday, February 12th at 3 pm, with a reception following at The Knights of Columbus. Please come prepared to celebrate Jim's life and share your memories and stories. Contributions to honor Jim can be made to the following local, Spokane, WA organizations: GonzagaPreparatory School - Fair Share Program; Saint George's School - DeenaBarber Scholarship Fund or the Girl's Basketball program; Second Harvest Food Bank; Pet Savers and/or CaringBridge.org. Please visit Jim's memorial and leave a condolence at www.hennesseyfuneralhomes.com. Arrangements entrusted to