James Felton Gentry Jr. passed away January 23, 2020 at the age of 70. He was born September 9, 1949 to James Felton Gentry Sr. and Nora Ann Thomas Gentry who preceded him in death. He graduated from Bryan Adams High School in 1968 where he lettered in track as a high jumper and enjoyed performing in theatre.
In addition to his parents James was preceded in death by his sister, Susan Eileen Gentry McVey (Craig) of Dallas, TX.
He is survived by his 5 children, James Felton Gentry III (April) of Fairbanks, AK; Jason Scott Gentry (Angela) of Ketchikan, AK; Gillian Rose Gentry (Chris Dowling) of Puyallup, WA; Elijah Michael Gentry (Farzeena) of San Jose, CA; Yarrow Michele Mitchell (Jesse) of Arcata, CA and 8 grandchildren: Breanna, Joshua, Brayden, James IV, William, Meridyn, Clara, and Alexander.
James was a musician that would play any instrument he could get his hands on, excelling at the drums and harmonica. He brought music into every aspect of his life by sharing his love with family and friends, church, and practicing and performing with multiple bands such as Character Reference and The Joe Hegel Band. James also loved the outdoors and would take any chance he had to explore, camp, or road trip.
James and his first wife Karen Sue Gibson-Mount of Mckinleyville, CA travelled to Alaska in 1979 in a Volkswagen bus with their two sons, brother in law, Matthew McDonald (Jerri), niece Sara, and cat Sombra. He resided in Alaska for 32 years.
James and family lived in Fairbanks and the surrounding area for 5 years before moving into a log cabin in Fox. He maintained different jobs around town as well as working on the North Slope during his years in Fairbanks and Fox. In 1987 they moved to Barrow where James began his career as a parts manager at Napa Autoparts. He worked hard supporting his family during his ten years in Barrow at Napa and the North Slope Borough, as well as with a local airline, MarkAir as a cargo and baggage handler.
In 1997 James moved back to Fairbanks where he resided for 14 years working as the parts manager at US Bearings & Drives before moving to Yakima, WA with his second wife Sharon Lee Hamson of Yakima, WA for the remainder of his life. While back in the Fairbanks area and during his time in Yakima, James was able to focus more on his music. He also enjoyed playing racquetball as often as he could and had a competitive nature that he passed along to his children in their love of board games and sports.
James worked hard to always provide for his family and was so proud of his children. It’s been said that you couldn’t have a conversation with James without him bragging about one of his kids.
A small closed family service was held in James’ memory and a service open to the community will be held at Unity Spiritual Life Center in Yakima on Sunday, February 16th at 12:30pm.
Condolences for the family may be offered online via Keith and Keith Funeral Home’s website or Facebook.
