James Dale Livingston

Champion of the Underserved

Shasta County Deputy Director of Adult Services James Dale Livingston passed away unexpectedly at his Redding home on Tuesday. He was 58.

Preceded in death by his parents, Dale and Evelyn Livingston of Fortuna, he is survived by his beloved wife of 26 years Jody Schlesiger Livingston, his brother Tom, his sister-in-law Jana, his numerous and cherished godchildren, nieces, nephews, and the myriad people who were fortunate to call him their friend.

Jim was born in Scotia on June 12, 1956, and was raised in Fortuna, graduating from Fortuna High in 1974, where he was a stellar athlete and the consummate teammate. Jim played collegiate football at both College of the Redwoods and Humboldt State University. Leaving the University when his academic eligibility expired, one semester short of graduation, Jim began his career as a full-time logger, where his intellect, work ethic, toughness, and his affable demeanor made him popular with both management and his co-workers.

In 1994, he completed his Bachelor's Degree in Psychology at Simpson College and beginning his career in mental health as a social worker in Tehama County. In 1997, he began working in Shasta County where he rose through the ranks to become Deputy Director of Adult Services in 2014. He attained a Master's Degree in Behavioral Science from California State University Dominguez Hills.

Known to many as Livy, Jim was a larger than life human with a gigantic heart and boundless energy, and his infectious enthusiasm and his magnanimity made an instant impression on all he encountered. He lived life to the fullest and pursued his passions with evangelistic zeal, nurturing others who shared the same interests. He was a champion of the underserved, with a soft spot in his heart for the elderly, veterans, the mentally ill, the developmentally disabled, children, and animals. He was an avid skier, an outdoorsman, and a humanitarian who gave his time generously to his favorite causes.

Livy was a legend. While living in the woods one summer, he had a number of encounters with an old, rogue black bear. Livy and the bear faced off twice. Livy was mauled in the first battle and the results of the second battle were more ambiguous although the bear succumbed to a case of lead poisoning shortly thereafter. While snowed in on his family's ranch on Eight Mile Ridge on South Fork Mountain in Humboldt County, Livy delivered a baby in a barn, providing care to both the newborn and her mother until the snow thawed a few weeks later. After 16 years in the woods, when it became apparent to him that the timber business held little future for him, Livy, then a handsome, young, hard-working, driven, book-smart, woods-smart logger, left the woods, returned to college, and became a social worker, distinguishing himself through his earnestness, his toughness, and his dedication, and become a tireless and powerful advocate for elders and a vehement enemy of perpetrators of elder abuse.

To his wonderful wife of 26 years, Jody Schlesiger Livingston, who he called "Lovey," Jim was a dedicated husband, a best friend, and a true life-partner. Jim and Jody were inseparable and Jody meant everything to him.

To his friends, Livy was a constant source of wonderment and amusement. He was a writer, a comedian, and a performer who relished an audience and loved to make them laugh. He was a born leader who artfully managed to live authentically by balancing his contradictory character traits: he was an authority figure and a rebel, a staunch advocate and gentle soul, a rascal with an innate sense of propriety, a serious and effective adult possessing a child's capacity for fun and frivolity.

His memorial service will be held on Friday, August 15 at 11 am at Elks Lodge, 250 Elk Drive in Redding, CA.

In lieu of flowers, donations to Power to Seniors Soup Kitchen, care of Golden Umbrella 200 Mercy Oaks Drive, CA 96003 would be appreciated