James Hampton Rasco

January 21, 1942 – August 8, 2016

August 8, 2016 my father James Hampton Rasco went to live with our Lord and our mom Karen Lillian Rasco.

Surviving family members are Benjamin T. Rasco, James L. Rasco his sons Jody L. and Jordan Rasco, Patricia A. Rasco, Karen Y. Rasco, Jonathan L. Rasco his wife Andrea and their daughter Jade Li, Jason N. Rasco, various cousins, nieces and nephews throughout Washington, Mississippi and the rest of the United States.

My father James Hampton Rasco was born in Lena, Mississippi on January 21, 1942 to John Hampton Rasco and Ruby Pearl (Hicks) Rasco. He was preceded in death by his father John Hampton Rasco, son John David Rasco, brother George Thomas Banks, sister Frances Rogers, mother Ruby Pearl (Armstrong) Rasco, sister Betty, nephew Lynn Maize, my mother and his wife Karen Lillian Rasco, brother Kermit Lewis Rasco, and other family members that I have never met or seen.

My father met my mother in Colville the summer before they married, while she was visiting her cousins the Balcoms and he was riding a horse through a field. A courtship soon started. From his recollections, he used to drive from his brother George’s in Colville to Roslyn to see my mother Karen. They soon were married in South Cle Elum, Washington on June 11, 1966.

During my mom’s first pregnancy they lived in Roslyn and on January 31, 1967 John David Rasco (deceased at birth) and his identical twin brother Benjamin Thomas Rasco were born.

Two years later James Lee Rasco was born in Jackson, Mississippi while they were living in Lena, Mississippi as my dad longed to be with family.

Soon after James Lee’s birth, they moved back home to Washington State as my Mother couldn’t cope in Mississippi and missed her family to pieces.

February 29, 1972 my sister Patricia was born in Colville, Washington as my parents then lived in Inchelium or there about.

February 23, 1974, I was born in Ellensburg, Washington as my grandfather Clifford Charles Hansen from Roslyn, Washington came to my mom’s rescue sometime before I was due to be born after the winter washed out the roads. Everyone was afraid my mom would give birth at home otherwise.

My earliest memories of my father were of him walking with me and showing me the big ditch alongside the Story’s house in Cle Elum, Washington, where we lived and trying to explain why we had no toilet to use at that time. The septic tank wasn’t working. I was about three years old. The next memory was my sister Patty, my brother Jim and I living on north 2nd Street in Cle Elem, Washington, next to the Cox’s and him coming home from work and leaving his chain saw on the porch. We kids then had a competition on who could pick it up, “all of us could”. He worked in the Logging industry at that point and we didn’t see him that often as he was gone to work before we got up in the morning and arrived home after we went to sleep. To my recollection, he did that job until about 1981 when he went to work for Twin City Foods in Ellensburg, Washington.

He was in a major car accident on October 1, 1982 while him, my uncle John, and a family friend Mike Mihelich were on their way home from work. Mike Mihelich may he rest in peace, died that evening, my uncle sustained some injuries, and my father had numerous injuries and a couple major surgeries from the accident and was dead for 17 hours on the operating table while they fixed his heart valve, etc. He was then disabled. He worked many jobs in his life and missed working to the day he died. He especially missed working on cars and tinkering in the garage.

In 1992, he was diagnosed with Bladder Cancer and survived. In 2006 or 2007 my father had his gall bladder removed, in 2007 or 2008 he had his left kidney removed. All these after a stroke sometime before hand and he still survived.

About 1993, when I got married he had made my mom and I some step stools so we could reach into the kitchen cupboards. I still have mine today.

We didn’t always get along during my youth and I hated him for many years, then my mom passed away and I started helping him with his bills, getting him to his doctor appointments and helping him fill out the forms as he could barely read and his writing was worse.

In the past three years, I helped him get in-home care services, as his health was declining and I couldn’t take him to all his appointments all the time, then have to go to work. I also couldn’t help him clean his apartment and shop for him on a regular basis enough.

I got to know the old man “dinosaur”, as I called him, and he wasn’t as bad as when we were kids. He was grateful someone in the family cared enough to help him when needed and would talk to him on a daily basis. Even with complaining to him all the time that he called me to early as I was sleeping most the time or I was getting ready for work, he didn’t seem to care as for him time was of the essence. Whenever he felt like calling was late enough for him as he didn’t really keep track of time much anymore.

We would put puzzles together, go shopping together, go out to eat together, and just watch television together, for most of our quality time. We would talk, I spent numerous hours talking to him about his family life in Mississippi, when he met mom, about what he still wanted to do before he left this world, “which was to go fishing one last time” and “have one more family meal with all the kids” beforehand.

He struggled in the past few years just trying to stay alive and trying to mend relationships, as he didn’t know how and it didn’t matter as he still wanted to try again.

I have to break the habit of calling him every day or hiding from him on my days off so I can have some alone time. He expected me to be their all the time for him and I couldn’t be. So I had to fib or straight out lie to him by telling him I had to work on a day off cause he wanted me to be with him. I had come to need some space and time away from everyone as I couldn’t get a day to myself and that is the only way I could get away from him. He loved to play the “guilt trip card” if I didn’t see him on both my days off.

He was a handful for me, my brother Jason and his caregivers and doctors to say the least, now he doesn’t have to bother anyone for anything and will be missed dearly.

Rest in peace dad, I love you & miss you already.

Karen Yvonne Rasco