James William Stezaker

James “Jim" Stezaker of Mason, Ohio, age 84, passed away on April 8, 2022, after a terrible battle with Alzheimer’s Disease. He was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1938 to Fred and Vera Stezaker. At the age of seven, his parents moved James and his siblings to the Los Angeles area, where he lived until he moved to Seattle with one of his brothers when he was 19 years old.

At age 20, James met the love of his life, Reeni, in the Queen Anne area of downtown Seattle and they were married eight months later at the Seattle Revival Center. As young adults, they had two little girls, Janie and Juli, who were approximately four years apart.

For most of James’ career life, he worked as a custom cabinet maker and foreman for Reynolds Corporation in Lynnwood, Washington. He loved working with wood and even started a business called Junior World Furniture, which specialized in custom children’s bedroom sets. James never met a stranger and loved having good conversations about life with everyone he met. He was a wealth of information and loved learning. He enjoyed the simple life, taking long drives with Reeni (and his girls when they were young), and up until he was 82 years old, going for long outdoor walks for miles every day. After retiring from cabinet making, he and Reeni worked as ushers for eight years together for the Seattle Symphony at Benaroya Hall in downtown Seattle.

In 2017, they took a trip of a lifetime for three weeks to visit their daughter, Janie, and her husband, Ken, who were living in France. While there, they rode the Chunnel train across the Channel to England, where James’ father and many generations before, were born and raised, and that fulfilled a lifelong dream he had.

In 2019 James and Reeni moved to Northern California to live with Janie and Ken, and the following year, they all relocated to the Cincinnati area to live out their remaining years near their grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Since a young boy, James loved God with all of his heart and spent his entire life serving Him. He was a prayer warrior and lovingly prayed for his family every day of his life up until he passed away. Alzheimer’s may have taken his memory, but James’ spiritual life remained very much alive!

James is survived by his wife of 63 years, Reeni; his daughter Janie and son-in-law, Ken; his grandchildren, Mike, Christian, and Kelsi; his three great-grandchildren, Amia, Caleb, and Olivia; and siblings, Paul, Phil, Joy, and Grace. He is preceded in death by his daughter, Juli; his parents, Fred and Vera; and his siblings, David and Faith.

There will be a private graveside service for James at Rose Hill Burial Park in Hamilton, Ohio. In lieu of flowers, James' family requests you consider donating to LifeWorks USA Inc (www.lifeworksusa.com), the nonprofit charity he loved that his family started, which helps Veterans create a plan for their lives as civilians after serving our country.