Jim was born in 1952 to Hugo and Aura Hagland in Seattle. He was the middle child between sisters Joyce and Anne. Growing up in the Queen Anne neighborhood, he made lifelong friends and many more throughout his life.
Jim was never shy about striking up a conversation with whomever he met and loved sharing details of his many adventures in life. Attending Queen Anne High School brought good friends, time spent playing football, and an undying love of being a Queen Anne Grizzly. He was a graduate of Western Washington University with a Bachelor of Arts degree.
Participating in the Boys Scouts, Jim received the highest honor of becoming an Eagle Scout. He liked to help others and took great pride in frequent blood donations to the Puget Sound Blood Center where he achieved over 100 units donated. While volunteering as a camp counselor at Seattle Children’s Stanley Stamm Summer Camp he met his wife, Georgeann.
Married in 1980, they moved to Woodinville where he was baptized into the Catholic faith. They had two children, Jana and Shawn. As they grew, he became very involved in the children’s school, St. Brendan’s, through CYO sports and various school committees. Jim enjoyed fishing and crabbing, hunting, camping, listening to music, and playing cards. After sending the children to college and experiencing an empty nest, Jim and Georgeann had the privilege of becoming guardians for their teenage nephew, Brandon.
Jim took pride in working for the University of Washington’s Athletic Department for 32 years, until his disease led to his early retirement. Through his time there, he developed numerous friendships and accompanied various UW teams to many play-offs, championships, and had the privilege of traveling to Cuba with the baseball team.
In his last years he enjoyed spending time with his family, especially his two grandchildren, Michael and Ellie, traveling to his beach cabin and enjoying any Oregon and Washington winery that produced Pinot Noir. Jim leaves behind a legacy of nicknames: Jimmy, Lefty, Jimbo, Hags, Dad, Uncle, and finally Pops and Grumpy Gramps. Husky fans, Queen Anne Grizzlies, WWU Vikings, friends, and family will all miss him dearly. Rest in Peace.
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