James "Jim" Sinclair

James Charles “Jim” Sinclair, 71, lost his battle with lung cancer on December30, 2010; he quietly passed in his sleep. A Celebration of Life will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, February 5, at the Colyer Funeral Home with Reverend Ora Dailey officiating. There will be a military burial, with military honors, at Willamette National Cemetery in Portland, Oregon at a later date. The family requests that in lieu of flowers donations be made to Festival of Hope at 3911 Ave. B Suite G100,Scottsbluff, NE 69361 ATTN: Carol; or a charity of your choice. Arrangements areunder the direction of the Colyer Funeral Home and friends may send condolences to the family at www.colyerfuneralhome.com James was born December 7, 1939 at home in Adair County, Kentucky the son of Willie Ray and Bonnie Lea (Corbin) Sinclair. He completed the 8th grade, but, while serving in the Army he received his GED. Later, after retiring from the Army, James returned to school and earned his AA in Auto & Diesel Mechanics. Jim joined the United Stated Army in 1962 at Fort Knox, Kentucky. Which was a rare incident since the military likes to send you asfar away from home as possible. While in the Army, he was stationed in Vietnam and served two tours. While serving one of his tours, his oldest daughter Bea was born. After his second tour was when his son Howard was born. James was also stationed in Germany. While on his third tour there, his youngest daughter Dawn was born. Stateside, Jim was stationed in Texas, Colorado, and Washington. He served with many Infantry Divisions. While serving, he earned many medals and honors, including, Combat Infantry Badge, Basic Parachute Wings, and French Legion Parachute Wings. He was honorably discharged in 1983 at Fort Lewis, Washington. He later worked for Holly Sugar and retired from there in 2002. While stationed at Fort Lewis, for the first time, he met the love of his life, Sandra, on a blind date. They were married in Coeur ‘d Alene, Idaho on March 6, 1968. They had a wonderful 42 years together. Of course, being a military family meant moving to new places often, but Sandra always seemed to know how to just make it happen. After Jim retired in 1983, they moved to Rochester, Washington where Bea and Howard graduated from high school. After Howard graduated, in 1989, they moved to Torrington, Wyoming where their daughter Dawn graduated. The couple has lived here ever since. In the past few years they had made trips to California to see their daughter Dawn and to Washington to see their daughter Bea. There were also trips to Louisville, Kentucky to visit Jim’s side of the family and trips to Bennettsville, South Carolina to see Sandra’s sister Lorraine and her family. They had hoped to do more traveling when Sandra retired but, due to his health, that wasn’t possible. Jim enjoyed cooking, fishing, putting together models, and building puzzles. There was always a puzzle on the puzzle table when you went to visit. His most important enjoyment was his family, especially the grandkids. He was always there with a game to play and a secret snack out of his hidden candy stash. When it got to where he couldn’t go to too many places he loved to watch the kids play on the Wii. He was also involved with many organizations from helping with his son Howard’s Boy Scout troop to being the escort for his daughters’ Bea and Dawn when they were in Rainbow Girls and Job’s Daughters. Later on, he was a Post Commander for VFW Post #2918 in Torrington, Wyoming. Jim is survived by his wife of 42 years Sandra Amy (Miskimins) Sinclair of Torrington, Wyoming; a daughter, Bea and her husband Russell Crawford of Scappoose, Oregon; a son, Howard Sinclair of Torrington, Wyoming; a daughter, Dawn and her husband Patrick Mickle of Torrington, Wyoming; five grandchildren, Sarah Crawford of Scappoose, Oregon, Chandler Sinclair of Claremore, Oklahoma, James, Connor and Cheyenne Mickle of Torrington, Wyoming; two sisters, Dot Rourak and Della Riddle and two brothers, Duell Sinclair and Ray Sinclair. He is preceded in death by his parents and abrother, Don Sinclair.

James "Jim" Sinclair

February 5, 2012