James B. "Jim" Mann

James B. Mann, known as “Jim”, was born in Burdett, NY on April 26, 1936 to Lena and Koeth Mann. He worked with his dad growing up building houses. He often commented on how he enjoyed working with his dad, but it was “hard” work. He graduated from Ithaca, NY high school in 1954. He worked up through the Air Scout program to be an Eagle Scout.

Jim had a scholarship in music for his beautiful tenor voice and loved to sing. He didn’t want to be a professional singer and he loved architecture and design. He graduated from University of Idaho with a degree in Architecture with a minor in English.

His very first job was with Anand Boone and Lei Architecture firm in Portland, OR. He also taught brick laying at PCC and drafting and english at Benson Technology before practicing more professional Architecture. In Portland, he met his first love after college and the love of his life, Lovina Trimble in 1959. They married in 1966 and lived on a houseboat. However, shortly after being married they were expecting their first daughter (Michelle) and Lovina didn’t want to raise a child on a houseboat, which led to their first house purchase in Cedar Hills, OR. They had 2 more daughters (Melissa and Melinda). He worked with the Camble, Michael and Yost firm before having his own partnership Architecture business with Dick Lakeman and Gary Michael, with the business name of Michael, Mann and Lakeman. Business was booming in Hermiston, OR, and Jim decided to open up a firm in Hermiston.

Which, with his family by his side he had built a beautiful home he designed for them. Jim and his family were active in the First United Methodist Church in Hermiston. They lived in Hermiston for 7 years before business slowed and Jim had to work in Salem, OR, returning to Hermiston on the weekends. Eventually the family returned to Portland, OR. He worked for H.A. Anderson Construction, which one of his great buildings was the Natural Gas building in downtown Portland. He then worked for a private firm in Juno, Alaska. While in Juno, he was approached again by H.A. Anderson to be a field engineer building Fred Meyer locations in Anchorage, Alaska. During this time his family resided in Portland, OR and he visited every few months. He returned to Portland in 1985 and continued to work for H.A. Anderson until 1993. He then was approached in an elevator by an old colleague Roger Yost to come work for their Architecture firm, named YGH which stood for Yost, Grube and Hall, which Jim became part of the board of directors for the firm. He remained with YGH until he retired in 2004.

After retiring he loved traveling to various areas around the country with Lovina. One of their favorite trips was his 50th high school reunion in Ithaca, NY. They visited Jim’s hometown and the beautiful surrounding areas. They also enjoyed, trips to BarretJackson Auction car shows in Arizona, drives through California, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Nevada, Washington and along their favorite Oregon Coast.

Jim was an avid Bowler and joined a league and eventually Lovina joined too. They also loved golf and joined the Sherwood Elks Golf Club. From 1991 to 2008 he did statistician volunteer work for the Portland Winterhawks which gave a seat for Lovina to attend the games with him. They became great fans of the Winterhawks and even after he did the stats they continued to purchase season tickets to attend the games. Jim became a Mason in 1977 and held various positions including Master Mason. He was part of the Scottish Rite as well as the Elks Lodge and Kiwanis.

Jim loved music and raised his family around music and encouraged each of his daughters to pursue music. He had a wide range of music interests, from Pavarotti to the rock band Kiss. In fact, Jim and Lovina attended the Kiss farewell concert in Portland. He said they were the oldest fans there and they didn’t forget their earplugs. He was a very honest and patient man, with great integrity. He had a great work ethic and never sat idle waiting for work, he always pursued. He had a wonderful sense of humor and there was always laughter in the home. He enjoyed comics and doing crossword puzzles. He also was an avid reader and could read a book a day.

He is missed by his loving wife Lovina, daughters Michelle Russell (married to Troy Russell), Melissa Goschie (married to Mark Goschie) and Melinda Young (married to Jeremy Young). 11 grandkids, James and Alexandra Russell, Aaron, Michael, Matthew, Gabriel, Chriss and Terra Goschie (married to Ryan Ronning) and Bryan, Luke and John Young.

The funeral will be at 2pm Sunday August 2nd at Skyline Memorial Gardens at 4101 NW Skyline Blvd, Portland, OR 97229 with reception following. A private family burial will be on Monday. Remembrances can be made to the American Diabetes Association.