James Rodney “Jim” Vannice was called to be with the Lord on December 16, 2012, surrounded by his family. He was born July 16, 1922 to Merwin and Grace Vannice near Lewiston, Idaho. For a time, the family lived near Clarkston, Wash., the Willamette Valley in Oregon, Reubens, Idaho, Clarkston, Wash. and on to Westport, Ore., where Jim graduated from high school.
July 9, 1941, Jim made a choice to enlist in the U.S. Navy. Following boot camp in San Diego, he was assigned to NAS Sand Point in Seattle. With the Dec. 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, school was cut short and Jim was sent to NAS Kodiak, Ark.
1944 saw new orders back to NAS Sand Point and then transferred to NAAS Arlington, Wash. While in Arlington, he met the love of his life, Ethel Robertson and four months later they were married.
The next duty assignment was NAS Anacostia, near Washington D.C. and son James Jr. joined the family. Jim had attained the rank of Chief Petty Officer and decided to leave the Navy in 1947. The family settled at Lake McMurray, building their first home. Employment was very poor and Jim soon came to the realization he needed to reenlist.
He was assigned to the last PBY (Catalina) squadron at NAS Whidbey. His next rotation was to the P2V (Neptune) squadron, VP-4 and deployments to the Western Pacific. He then rotated to VAH-2, a new squadron fleeting up with the new A3D (Skywarrior) aircraft. During this time, daughter Jacqueline “Jackie” was born.
In 1956, Jim received notification he had been selected to be commissioned as an Ensign in the Limited Duty Officer (LDO) program. He was assigned to NAS Whidbey and VAH-4, followed by a tour on the Comfairwhidbey Staff as A3 Maintenance Officer. His next orders were to VAH-123 as Maintenance Control Officer.
In 1966, Jim reported to Atsugi, Japan and in 1969, received his last assignment with Staff Comfairwhidbey as the A-6 Maintenance Officer. On August 1, 1971, Jim retired from the Navy with 30 years of service, a veteran of WWII, Korea, Vietnam and the Cold War with the rank of Commander (O-5).
Following retirement, Jim and Ethel set out on their first major civilian adventure, commercial fishing off Neah Bay and LaPush, which lasted nine years.
The Masonic Fraternity became a very important part of Jim’s Life. In 1953, Jim joined the Mt. Baker Lodge No. 36 F&AM, serving as Master in 1980. He also served the Grand Lodge of Washington. In 1988 he was elected Junior Grand Warden and also served as Grand Master in the 1991/92 Masonic year.
Jim was a member of the Whidby Island Lodge #14, Garfield Lodge #41, Kettle Falls Lodge #130, Hermanos del arte Lodge #314, Walter F. Meier Lodge of Research #150, Grand Mound Historic Lodge #3 and Bannack Historic Lodge #3-7-77 in Montana.
He was a member of the Scottish Rite bodies, holding the rank of 33rd degree honorary and a member of the York Rite bodies. He was a member of the First United Methodist Church of Oak Harbor. He was also a former member of the Board of Trustees of Whidbey Federal Credit Union and a City of Oak Harbor Planning Commission.
He is survived by his wife the former Doris K. Frazier and by son James Jr. (Christine), daughter Jacqueline Vannice-Zahrt (Marc), by grandson Jay (Anita), Granddaughter Jemesa Treadwell (Kevin) and granddaughter Elizabeth Roth (Andrew). 3 great grandchildren, Sophia Treadwell, Cooper Treadwell and John Vannice and siblings Elizabeth Sawyer, Richard Lee Vannice (Virginia) and Robert Merwin Vannice (Joan) also survive.
A Celebration of Life will be held 1 p.m. Friday, Dec. 28 at Wallin Funeral Home, Oak Harbor. Friends and family are encourage to offer condolences and share memories utilizing the Memory Book hosted by Wallin Funeral Home at www.wallinfuneralhome.com
