Ernest Carl Snyder
Ernest Carl Snyder of Sequim died on Jan. 5, 2020, at Sherwood Assisted Living. He was 97.
Snyder was born Oct. 11, 1922.
A memorial was held Jan. 12 in Sequim.
Sign an online guestbook for the family at www.drennanford.com.
Willard Bruce Washburn
Willard Bruce Washburn of Sequim died on jan. 6, 2020, of natural causes in Port Angeles.
He was 80.
Washburn was born Feb. 24, 1939.
No services are planned.
James Pickett
October 24, 1938 – November 15, 2019
Jim Pickett, 81, died at home, in Port Townsend, on November 15, 2019.
Born in Wharton, Texas, he grew up in the small farming community of Iago, Texas, and worked alongside his father in the Pickett Hatchery and Feed store.
He was a state winner in 4-H and an Eagle Scout. He attended Wharton County Junior College on a football scholarship and graduated from Lamar University, in Beaumont, Texas, with a teacher’s degree in history-a degree paid for with prize money won with Houston “fat stock” show champion chickens.
He began his educational career teaching junior high in Houston, Texas, in 1960.
In 1961, he was drafted into the US Army; he served two years stateside on active duty. He received a reserve commission and completed 28 years of reserve military service, retiring as a colonel in the Medical Service Corps as a hospital administrator. He was a graduate of the Army’s Command and General Staff College.
After discharge from active duty, Jim resumed teaching in Houston. He completed an M. Ed at the University of Houston. He began his school administration service in Galveston, Texas. After ten years as Superintendent of Schools, he took a medical retirement in 1993. He had 33 years of public education credit.
Jim met Cherie Phillips during Army Reserve training, in Wisconsin, in 1983. They were married 35 years.
In 1993, they moved to Sequim to assist Cherie’s parents.
Jim began what he affectionately referred to as ‚”paying back” for the community support he had received while in public school education. He was thankful to be able to help and stay busy.
In 1995, working with Citizens for Sequim Schools, a grassroot community group, Jim and Cherie chaired the election drive for a 25 million dollars’ capital improvement bond. (Its passage resulted in a new middle school, a large high school classroom addition, a second gymnasium, a remodel of the auditorium and other campus improvements.) It was difficult to get him out of teaching, though; he taught as a substitute for six years. Later, he served as the school district’s hearing officer for three years.
While in Sequim, he became president of the following non-profit organizations:
• United Way of Clallam County
• City of Sequim Parks Advisory Board
• Friends of Sequim Library
• Sequim Sunrise Rotary
• Sequim Education Foundation
• Diversified Industries
He was an elected member of the Clallam County Charter Review Commission.
He served a year as Volunteer Executive Director of the Dungeness Valley Health and Wellness Clinic.
For six years, he was a Sequim instructor for the AARP’s Safe Driving Program.
He and Cherie volunteered four years as weekly delivery staff with Volunteer Hospice of Clallam County.
In 2007, Jim received the Clallam County Community Service Award.
In 2010, he was selected Sequim’s Citizen of the Year.
Jim was a proud Rotarian. He represented the seven Washington Rotary clubs in Clallam and Jefferson Counties and served as Assistant Rotary District Governor for three years.
In 2006, he became an Ambassador for ShelterBox USA, an organization that, with the help of Rotary International, provides emergency shelter for those experiencing natural or man-made disasters. Jim was their top fundraiser for ShelterBox in North America, in 2017, raising over $337,880 with his presentations in Washington state. He remains the most successful fund raiser in ShelterBox USA history.
He completed 46 years as a Rotarian in October 2017. He was honored by his fellow Rotarians with his second Distinguished Service Award.
Jim wasn’t all volunteer and no play. He and Cherie hiked and hiked again favorite Olympic trails and beaches of the Pacific northwest. They regularly rode the Olympic Discovery Trail. They travelled internationally to bike-tour Viet Nam, Canada, and the north and south islands of New Zealand. They enjoyed two bike-barge trips in France, Belgium and The Netherlands. To their great enjoyment, they hosted three Rotary Exchange students and visited two of them in their home countries.
In addition to his wife, Jim is survived by his daughter, Denise (Christopher) Stewart; and granddaughter, Ella, who live in Dallas, Texas.
At Jim’s request, there was no service. Those wishing to honor his memory are encouraged to support any of the following helping organizations: ShelterBox USA through the Sequim Sunrise Rotary Foundation (POB 1521, Sequim); the Sequim Education Foundation (POB 3065, Sequim 98382); The Sequim Free Clinic (777 N. 5th Avenue, Sequim 98382); Volunteer Hospice of Clallam County (839 East 8th Street, Port Angeles WA 98362), or End of Life Washington (POB 61369, Seattle, WA 98141).
