JAMES PIDGEON Obituary

JAMES EMIL PIDGEON
March 31, 1934 ˜ February 25, 2023
“What a way to go!”

James Emil Pidgeon teed off one last time and drove his golf cart into the sunset on Feb. 25, 2023.
He was a self-made man who came from nothing and made his life into something.
He was born in South Range, MI, to Margaret Delta Pidgeon on March 31, 1934.
At 17 years old he moved to Butte, MT, where he met and married the love of his life Dorothy Mae Dyer.
He went to work at the Anaconda smelter during the day while he worked nights as a janitor in local grocery stores; during this time he also put himself through machinist school.
Later he went to work in the Butte mines as a machinist until an accident changed his direction and he went to work above ground in the Berkeley Pit in Butte.
He and Dorothy built their first home there where they lived with their 3 children until the Anaconda Company strike in 1967. This forced him to look for employment outside of Butte when he then went to work for Green Giant in Belvidere, Illinois for the duration of the growing season.
He eventually made his way west to Vancouver, WA, where he lived with his brother and sister-in-law while searching for employment; Dorothy and the kids remained in Butte where she worked full time.
He found work at Nabisco and the family soon joined him in Vancouver.
While working nights at Nabisco he began what would become a stable and successful home building business and he built their first of many Clark County homes.
Jim and Dorothy bought their first grocery market in Harney Heights in the late 1970’s. He left Nabisco to run his construction company full time while Dorothy and their daughter Connie ran the store. His son Jim worked closely with him as well, until breaking off and creating his own successful construction company.
In the early 1980’s, he and Dorothy sold their first store and purchased The Lake Store on Lacamas Lake in Camas which they owned and operated until they retired in the late 1980’s. Their daughter Connie worked that store as well. All the grandkids have fond memories of countless hours there and even helping with semiannual inventory followed by the traditional reward of Smokey’s Pizza.
Throughout those years he built more homes and duplexes around the county until the time came to hang up his hammer and he was able to spend his days on the golf course.
After Dorothy’s death in 2012, Jim kept busy by leasing out the store and maintaining that property until he sold it in 2022.
He played as hard as he worked and made sure the family time was quality in the early years; camping, road trips and many vacations. Even flooding ‘the pond’ in Butte so the kids could ice skate in the winter!
As the years went by he enjoyed day road trips with his daughter, golfing with his buddy’s and his son, traveling to visit family in Montana, Michigan, Wyoming and Wisconsin and countless dinners at The Spaghetti Factory.
There were certain things that were extremely important to him: family, honesty, quality time with loved ones, hard work and a good laugh.
He could play a mean guitar and sing a ditty or two and he even recorded his own CD.
He had a huge heart and his words were always true.
Jim was preceded in death by his wife Dorothy in 2012.
He is survived by his daughter Connie Chappelle; son Jim Pidgeon; brother-in-law Joe Dyer; cousins Lorraine (LaLa) Nolan, Margaret (Cusin) Burkman, Robert (Bobby) Pidgeon and Sharon Pidgeon; numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren as well as one great-great granddaughter.
A graveside service and celebration will be held at Evergreen Memorial Gardens on Saturday, April 15 at 1 p.m.
Please share a memory @ www.columbian.com/obits