James Rufus Hobbs

James Rufus Hobbs died on Tuesday, January 19, 2016, in Lynnwood, Washington, at the age of 92. He was born in Coffee Springs, Alabama June 22, 1923, to David Andrew Jackson Hobbs and Delia Westcott Hobbs. The fifth of six boys born to the couple, he was the last one to die. James is survived by his beloved wife of almost 67 years, Peggy, sons Nick, Larry, Ron and Dennis, daughter-in-law Debora, grandsons Ryan Olsen, Samuel Hobbs and Jackson Hobbs, grand-daughters-in-law Michelle Olsen and Cecilia Hobbs, and great-grandchildren Audrey, Brodie and Cooper Olsen and Mia Hobbs.

His mother died when James was four, and his father on Christmas morning when James was 14. On his own from an early age, he worked on various CCC projects from Oregon to Georgia, and in 1941 joined the U.S. Navy, serving on various ships in the European and Pacific theaters throughout the war. In 1946 he received his honorable discharge and transfer to the Naval Reserve in Seattle, where he served for another five years. He decided Seattle was a good place to stay. Soon after leaving active duty, he met Peggy Louise Thomas and in 1949 they married. James and Peggy raised their boys in the Lynnwood home built for them in 1957. They lived in that home until moving to an assisted living facility in 2012.

James found salvation by grace through faith in Jesus, and eternal life in the presence of God early in his Seattle life. In 1947 he yielded his life to God at the altar of The Little Chapel, a thriving Seattle Christian Church at 2nd and Stewart. It was there he met Peggy.

In 1985 at age 62, he retired from Champion Paper, where he had worked since 1947. In 30 years of retirement, although they traveled some, they preferred to be home. James favorite pastimes were trailer camping and mowing the lawn. He was a good man. He was a man of integrity. He was loved. He will be missed.