James "Jim" Weber

1931 - 2022

James "Jim" Weber
May 19, 1931 - January 15, 2022
West Richland, Washington - James (Jim) William Weber loving husband, father, stepfather, grandfather and celebrated friend of all he met slipped away peacefully into the arms of his savior, Jesus Christ at home in West Richland. He was born in Tacoma, WA on May 19,1931 to Hester Elizabeth and Jack William Weber.
Jim lived in Tacoma attended Lincoln High School (49ers) worked summers in a local smelter and crewed on a private yacht on fishing excursions. He graduated from University of Washington with a BS in Metallurgy in 1953 and a Masters in Metallurgy in 1955. His military service included ROTC and the US Army Corps of Engineers serving in Germany until 1957. Jim married his high school sweetheart Marilyn Gay Peterson in 1952 in Tacoma and she joined him in Germany. After military service, they settled in Tri Cities. A son Craig William joined them November 4, 1960, and was followed by a daughter, Jameilyn Marie on May 19, 1963, same birthdate as Jim. Marilyn delivered a healthy baby girl on December 30, 1972 who they named Noelle Elizabeth.
During landscaping efforts in the backyard of their new home, Jim was encouraged by a fellow member of the Tri City Astronomy Club to build a telescope observatory. During those years he was involved in many star parties with the Club sharing his telescope and knowledge. In the late 1980s he served as staff support for the Hanford Science Center presenting "Saturday Science" classes for elementary and middle school students. He also prepared special events and exhibits on space, astronomy and how to safely view a solar eclipse. Columbia Basin College asked him to teach an adult education class on astronomy for seniors.
Employment at Hanford in late 1950s was with Westinghouse, Battelle and General Electric as a Fellow Engineer working on fuels fabrication and development. He worked at Hanford FFTF serving as manager of Fuels Design and Fuels Performance until 1989. His integrity was shown through assurance that the mixed oxide fuel used in the FFTF was world class. He was a member of the American Society of Metals and was published in the Journal of Nuclear Materials in 1963.
Jim had an opportunity to meet world famous cosmologist Dr. Stephen Hawking in Seattle in 1993. It was a memorable occasion. Following Marilyn's death in 1995, he joined a biking tour with couples from Richland traveling to Germany and Austria.
In 1997 Jim married Kathy Woodruff on January 4 in Richland. After honeymooning on Maui, they continued to live in West Richland enjoying travels, local and international with family, Elderhostels with friends, camping in the old Brougham Motor home, and stargazing whenever the night sky was accommodating. Jim arranged a trip to England to observe the last solar eclipse of the millennium in August 1999 and to visit many National Trust historical sites venturing on to Normandy and Omaha beaches with a stay in the Loire valley. He enjoyed reading mysteries and collected all the Chronicles of Brother Cadfael Series so there was a trip to Shrewsbury including trips to Edinburgh, James Herriot Country in Yorkshire Dales, Cornwall, and south to the White Cliffs of Dover. An Alaska cruise was a trip he enjoyed with some family members.
Jim was a long-time member of Westside Church serving as an elder, deacon, VBS teaching, Alpha and ESL serving, table parenting with Logos program, nursery care for babies with Marilyn and Count Count at the annual Light in the Night celebrations. He completed the men's Bible Study Fellowship program.
Jim was preceded in death by his parents, brother Orville Weber and his first wife and mother of his children, Marilyn. He is survived by his wife of 25 years, Kathy, his children Craig (SungHee) of Kirkland, Jameilyn Perez (Larry) of Richland, Noelle Harman (Mike) of San Clemente, step children Matt Woodruff (Desiree) of Bellevue, Bryan Woodruff of Phoenix, Joy Keating (Peter) of Oak Harbor and Andrew Woodruff (Karla) of West Richland, and grandchildren Darrell Stanhope, Scott Stanhope, Stacey Davis (Sean), Haylee Woodruff, Brody Woodruff, Megan Keating, Harrison Keating, Kaden Woodruff, Makiya Woodruff, Donovan Woodruff and great grandchildren, Raelyn Davis, Kaitlyn Davis and Brandyn Davis.
A Celebration of Life will be held at WestSide Church, 615 Wright, Richland on April 2 at 2 PM in the South Sanctuary where the service will be live streamed. In lieu of flowers, contributions in the name of Jim may be made to Ingalls Creek Enrichment Center, 12249 Ingalls Creek Road, Peshastin, WA 98847 or Westside Church Alpha program.