James Raymond Eylander

His life started November 25,1927 on a farm in Arlington, WA. His parents were Reverend Cornelius Eylander and Ida Mae Eylander. His siblings, all deceased, were Russel, Laura, Estell, Bob, Frank, Vivian, George, and John.

The farm had Dairy, horses, vegetables, and lots of Chores. There was Jim Creek to swim in and Church breaks from the hard work. He learned to play piano and guitar which was useful in Church Services, duets and for the Church Congregations/ Christian Youth he participated in.

He had to drop out of High School to carry the load while brothers Frank and George were serving in World War 2. He managed to get to Arlington High to pick up those he felt needed to "keep from straying" between chores.

His Electrical Contracting began with wiring a church in 1953. He was a logger with George and John (Eylander Brothers Logging), felt called to Oklahoma in 1954 (Oral Roberts was there) and returned in 1955 to wire in another Church. He never returned to the woods. Eylander Electric had begun. It was called many other things over the 69 years he contracted. He had a motor shop, was an HVAC contractor and UL manufacturer at the 3 locations he did business in Everett. He had many decades long employees. The 3 that he talked about in his last 10 years were Gordy Walstad, Jim Stevens, and "Girl Friday" Heather Hughes. He trusted them to be correct when he wasn't. They were 'good will ambassadors' when he was short with customers or too preoccupied to pay attention to details. The sign on his desk was "Right or Wrong, I'm still the Boss". This did not apply to his Faith.

His favorite customer was Tulalip Tribes which he did business with for over 50 years. He wired in the Long House and many others using Tulalip Tribe Members who were electricians. He serviced Tulalip Hatchery and Seniors whenever the call came in. It had all started years before when invited by Tribal Members for Food and Fellowship. He would join them in singing, giving/hearing a message, or doing Church Activities.

He contracted the original Frontier Village in Lake Stevens on a note pad agreement and a handshake. He had a good relationship with the Electrical Union for decades. He joined an Electrical Contractors organization then quit after 2 months. He told others he had removed himself after the 2 months over language that offended his Christian Beliefs.

Jim Eylander was President of the Everett Gospel Mission and served with Vern Sievers and other Community Leaders for over a decade. He was President of the Full Gospel Business' Men which involved many meetings and banquets. Food and Fellowship was always a part of both his business and Faith activities. He had other friends in the business community that he admired and respected including Jim Shaffer. Most of the others have passed.

His brother, Bob was his mentor and he traveled overseas to the Mid East and India for Evangelical Mission reasons. He also traveled to Europe and Central America. He was in Guatemala during the Feb, 1976 earthquake. They had been stopped by Security the night before the earthquake and were concerned about getting out of the country. He used his electrical skills to get emergency power going and was able to leave.

His brother Frank's death affected him deeply. He said Frank kept the family together after the tragic death of one of his sisters and her children.

Jim Eylander had incredibly gifted eye-hand coordination, yet never turned out for or understood Sports. He could catch a housefly in midair by clapping his hands together. He caught fish for food and hunted deer for meat in his younger years. He liked to say, "Sport Fishing is not very sporting to the fish" and other things that many did not find agreeable. He had his own way of thinking. He was a very hard worker, rarely required anyone to do electrically what he had not already done or tried. He liked to experiment with new ideas and manufactured products that he knew worked by trial and error. He knew what worked, not how and could not always explain the why they worked, especially to a puzzled engineer.

He also liked raising his own beef and was very proud of his vegetables. He shared the vegetables by bringing them to work or shipping them. The beef was shared at Sunday dinners.

His Faith was what kept him going during the difficult times. He advocated and supported Christian Youth Activities. There were dozens of churches that he attended and served in some capacity at most of them. The church he served at the longest is where his Life Celebration will be held.

He had 2 wives, Beth for 34 years and Patricia for 40. When Jim broke his thigh bone Patricia called one of his children at the hospital to relay care for him. She was very sick, but made sure he was taken care of. Jim passed the day before her Life Celebration.

He would visit people in jail, or pay bail, go to hospitals, attend 12 step meetings as a support. He helped some of his employees when they were in financial jams.

Thank you to Angela and Kristen for your help when his mind and memory were faltering. Thank you to Joanne and others for all the rides the last 15 years. The rides were for the Food and Fellowship he enjoyed during the week. Various Restaurants Tuesday afternoons, Wednesday/Friday 6am Bible Studies and Saturday mornings kept him with people before the Pandemic. Sunday Church was the lynch-pin. Larry gave him the most rides to work and home the last 3 years.

There were 4 children in the 1st marriage and 3 in the 2nd. Jim expressed in a 2009 hand writing that he considered them and their children to all be equals. It was an example of how he viewed most people.

The children are Jude, Jim Jr, John, Janet, Cheryl, Aaron and Megan.

Special Thanks to Maria Allen for her excellent care the last 8 months and Hospice (MJ and others) for the incredible good information and care the last 2 months.

There will be a short Life Celebration on May 22. Jim Eylander liked telling guest speakers at Full Gospel Business Men Banquets he was going to deduct $1 for every minute they spoke after 10 minutes.

There will be no Microphone Sharing. Food and Fellowship will follow.

Jim Eylander's Life Celebration:

Wednesday, May 22, 2024 at 11 AM

MOUNTAIN VIEW PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

5115 100th ST NE

MARYSVILLE, WA 98270

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