James 'Jim' Brandt
February 24, 1940 – February 17, 2017
James “Jim” Brandt was born Feb. 24, 1940 to Charles and Grace Brandt in Burlington, Iowa. He passed away Feb. 17, 2017 at home in Moses Lake surrounded by his family after a hard-fought battle with cancer.
It is said that what really matters is what you did with your dash and Jim made the absolute most of the time he had here on this Earth. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Iowa State University in 1963 and made his career in the finance portion of agronomy. He married the love of his life, Charlene Mundt, on Nov. 24,1963 in Burlington, Iowa. In 1977 Jim and Charlene moved their family from Iowa to Moses Lake. Being an independent and determined provider, he built his home by hand with the help of the girls and many friends. Later in life he had to make some hard decisions and changed his work to truck driving. He retired from that but never truly “retired” as he always had projects.
Jim had a love of gardening, reading, dogs and tracking the weather. He especially loved tracking the weather on the mountain passes and anywhere his daughters were traveling. Jim enjoyed woodworking, building many things in the later years. Jim was always the fix-it man. His family was very important to him and he always made time for them. Jim showed his support in all activities that his daughters chose to do (sports, homework, band, college, career, and grandchildren). Jim always had a joke or a story to tell. His faith was very important to him; he was always an active member in all of the Lutheran churches in Illinois, Iowa, and Washington. Jim and Charlene were faithful members of Living Word Lutheran. His daughters will forever be grateful for the many lessons he taught and modeled through his life.
Jim is survived by his wife Charlene of 53 years; daughters and spouses Suzanne Vandeweghe (Mark), Jennifer Traufler (Bob), Judy Reed (Chris) and Amy Miller (Aaron); eight grandchildren Kayla, Kody, Zach, Jacob, Madison, Nathan, Dylan and Owen and two great-grandchildren Emma Lee and Harper; nephew Steve Johnson, niece Cindy Gregory, niece Lori Boyd and aunt Norm Pforts. He was preceded in death by his brother Howard, infant daughter Julie Ann, both parents and his sister Marjorie Johnson.
A celebration of life is planned for Friday, Feb. 24 at 1 p.m. at Living Word Lutheran Church. Extended gratitude to Dr. Seth Pollack and team of Seattle Cancer Care Alliance and Columbia Basin Cancer Foundation, especially to Jean and Angel for all their help navigating his cancer journey. Appreciation to friends and church family for all of the support provided in various fashions to Jim and Charlene. In lieu of flowers donations can be made to Columbia Basin Cancer Foundation. Please sign the online guestbook or leave a note for the family at www.kayserschapel.com. Arrangements are in care of Kayser’s Chapel & Crematory.