Jim Eriksen
Age - 89
December 6, 2023
Jim R. Eriksen of Walnut Creek, CA, passed away peacefully on Friday, November 17th, 2023. He was a very dedicated husband, father, grandfather, uncle, and friend. He was 89 years old. Jim was born on May 4th, 1934 in Ukiah, CA. His parents, Robert (Bert) and Veva Eriksen, had one child before him, Lois. Jim and Lois were raised on a 40-acre ranch in Willits, CA. When he was a child, everyone called him Jimmie. He helped his parents with the many chores on the ranch. The family focused on raising chickens and selling eggs. In addition to the chickens, the family raised hogs, cows, and horses. With loving parents and many extended family members visiting often, life on the ranch was full of adventures. One of his favorite childhood memories involved the many deer hunting trips that he and his father, along with other men from the extended family, would go on at the end of each summer. In 1952 Jim graduated from Willits High School and was the first in his family to attend college. Jim attended Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo from 1952 - 1953. He enjoyed college and stayed at a place called The Judge's House. He had a great time, but he ran out of money. With no way to support himself as a college student and the draft from the Korean War a constant worry, he decided to enlist in the United States Army. Jim enlisted in the U. S. Army on January 14st, 1954. He went through boot camp at Fort Ord, in California. Upon completing boot camp, he was transported to Seattle, WA. At that point he boarded a troop ship to Korea. By the time that he reached Korea, the fighting had ended. He told the family a few stories about his experience in Korea. But, he kept most of his experience to himself. He was stationed in Korea for 18 months. During that time, he served as Military Police and guarded prisoners and a pipeline. After serving in the Army, he stopped referring to himself as Jimmie. He wanted to be called Jim. He also returned to Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and completed his education. He eared a B. S. in Animal Husbandry. By 1959, Jim had graduated from college and was ready to work. He secured a job on a ranch in Utah. As a ranch hand, he endured a long, bitterly cold winter in Utah. After that experience, he decided to make a change. He decided that he did not want to work as a ranch hand forever. He wanted a job that paid more and had a better future. In 1960 he moved to Oakland, CA. Because Jim had taken organic chemistry while earning his degree in Animal Husbandry, he was qualified for a position at Chevron Research in Richmond CA. He worked in the emissions spectrography department. While this was steady work and he was grateful for the job, he did not enjoy the work. He stuck it out and worked for Chevron for 25 years. In the summer of 1985, Jim retired from Chevron Research and started working in the field for which he truly had a passion: construction. In 1985, Jim started his own construction company named Mountain View Construction. He worked for decades, building spec houses and completing remodels. He loved every aspect of building. Prior to starting his construction business, he started a family. In 1971 Jim married Margaret (Peggy) Dean. At that time, Peggy had three children from a previous marriage: Larissa, Howard and Stephanie. Almost exactly 9 months after their marriage, in 1972, Jim and Peggy had a baby girl, Suzanne. Then, in 1974, they had another baby girl, Kristina. The following year, In 1975, Jim's eldest step daughter passed away in a tragic accident. While the entire family grieved this terrible loss, they all kept very busy. In the late 1970's, Jim worked on construction projects during the day and worked night shifts at Chevron Research. Often Peggy would meet Jim at his construction job site and drop off the clothes and things that he needed to work at Chevron that night. This saved him valuable time. On one of these handoffs, Peggy did not look too closely at what she had packed for him and unfortunately packed him two left shoes. Jim did not realize, until it was too late, that he only had two left shoes to wear that night. He said that he walked to his desk as quickly as possible and did not get up for the entire shift. Everyone had a good laugh over that mistake. By the end of the 1970's, the house that they lived in was too small and road that they lived on was too busy. Jim and Peggy decided to find a new home. When driving around the neighborhood with a realtor, Jim noticed a "Lot For Sale" sign at the end of a court. The realtor told him that he should not bother with that, he couldn't afford it. Jim was still curious and went back to look at the lot on his own. By early August 1978 Jim secured the financing, bought that lot, and started construction of his own home. In May of 1979, their dream of building their own home came true. They were so excited about the new house that the family slept on the floor on the day that they took possession of the home. They could not wait to move the furniture into the home to start enjoying it. Jim had several interests. He loved construction and real estate. He was often found on the living room couch reading about these topics. He liked to play chess with his daughter Kristina and grandson Jacob. Also, he was a great poker player. The family often followed a great meal with a few very entertaining games of poker. More often than not, Jim ended with the most poker chips. More importantly, all of the participants laughed a lot and had a good time. Jim's other favorite pastime was football. As a teenager, Jim played on the Willits High School football team. Later, as an adult, became a Green Bay Packer fan. Normally, he was a calm, easy-going person. But, the one time you might see him jump up and down and shout, "Go! Go! Go!" was while watching a football game on TV. He explained the rules of the game to anyone who was interested. His grandsons really enjoyed watching these games with him. In the 1990's he went to a 49er game at Candlestick Park. He sat near the 50 yard line on a beautiful fall day and he had a huge grin on his face the entire time. Another thing that Jim loved was music. He played drums in the Willits High School marching band. Also, when he was in high school, Jim and his friend Bob, along with a few other friends, started a band. Jim and Bob both played guitar. Jim's participation in the band ended when he went to college. He later said that he really enjoyed being a part of that band. When listening to music, he loved songs that have a close harmony. One such song is "My Happiness" by Connie Francis. Another song that he really liked was "Walk the Line" by Johnny Cash. He enjoyed the music of Gene Autry and he regularly watched Lawrence Welk Show. Music brought him great joy throughout his life. The one thing that Jim was not very good at was cooking. He did not learn to cook as a child because at that time it was not considered an appropriate activity for a boy. But he did appreciate it when other people cooked for him. He would eat almost anything with a positive attitude. For example, when many of the other family members picked at the somewhat burned meal, Jim ate it heartily and stated, "This is really good!" He loved oatmeal raisin cookies, angel food cake topped with strawberries, and vanilla pudding. He thoroughly enjoyed a steak and potatoes meal. Above all else, he loved his coffee. He drank it black - no sugar. He always made coffee first thing in the morning and filled-up his thermos to drink it throughout the day. In addition to his love for coffee, Jim loved being out in nature. Having grown up on a farm and living on the land, he started life learning to appreciate the nature around him and animals that his family raised. One of Jim's favorite places in the world to visit was Lake Tahoe. He loved sitting on the beach, sipping on coffee and looking at the lake. Whether he was walking through a redwood forest or along the shore of the ocean, he truly appreciated being immersed in any beautiful natural setting. Jim had a special talent for handling animals. He was an expert horseman. He and his childhood friend, Bob, went on long rides in the country. They both joined the Junior Horseman's Association. One time, when he was in his 20s, he entered the rodeo in Willits. He tried to ride a bronco. Unfortunately, the horse bucked him off and, in the process, Jim broke his back. Luckily, he was young, healthy, and strong and after resting for many weeks, his back healed. That was the end of his rodeo career. But Jim and Bob have stayed in touch all their lives and enjoyed reminiscing about "the good old days" each time that they met. Jim truly cherished his life-long friendship with Bob and Bob's wife, Pat. As a person, Jim had a great sense of humor with an infectious laugh. He was caring and kind, while also generous and thoughtful. In addition to these qualities, he was also tough with a very strong spirit. Many people have described him as good man. Thanks to his smart decisions, hard work and clever solutions to difficult problems, his construction business was very successful. He always protected his family and worked very hard to provide for them. He will forever be missed. Jim is survived by his wife, Margaret (Peggy) Eriksen; his two biological children: Suzanne (Eriksen) Pipho and Kristina Eriksen; his two step-children: Howard Dean and Stephanie Breen; and his six grandchildren: Ryan Dean, Tessa (Dean) Charles, Thomas Breen, Matthew Breen, Jacob Pipho and Jared Pipho. He will be interred at the Sacramento Valley National Cemetery on Thursday, November 30th, 2023. The family is also organizing a celebration of life BBQ to honor Jim's memory and share stories from his life on Saturday, May 4th, 2024, the date that would be his 90th birthday. Contact his daughter, Suzanne Pipho, for more information about this event: suzannepipho@gmail. comShow more
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