James William (Jim) Pritchard

September 4, 1926 – August 3, 2022

James William (Jim) Pritchard, 95, of Ephrata, Washington, passed away on Aug. 3, 2022, at Avamere Assisted Living Facility in Moses Lake, Washington. Jim was born Sept. 4, 1926 at Selah, Washington to Bernard Lee and Nora O. Pritchard where he attended school and became an Eagle Scout and also received the State Farmer degree in FFA in 1943.

He served in the U.S. Army and participated in the liberation of Korea from the Japanese after World War II attaining the rank of sergeant.

Jim graduated from Washington state University at Pullman in 1951 with degrees in education and agriculture. While in college he served as president of his dormitory and spent a summer in Mexico with the Methodist Church in a missionary work camp. He taught high school vocational agriculture for two years. He spent a 32 1/2 career with the Farmers Home Administration of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (FmHA) as a loan officer in various counties of central and southwestern Washington and the Willamette Valley of Oregon. His final years with the agency were spent as a farmer program specialist at the Oregon state office of FmHA in Portland, Oregon.

Jim married Eula Mae (Jones) Kroll in 1959.

Upon retirement in 1989 he and his wife moved to their summer home on Lake Roosevelt in Lincoln County, Washington. In winters they lived in Ephrata. He became a farm real estate appraiser and earned his Accredited Rural Appraiser (ARA) designation from the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers in 1990.

Jim was very active in church and community activities having been chair of the board in several churches through the years. He was a past president of the Washington association of FmHA County Supervisors and the Oregon Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers. He was active in Scouting, including being a Scoutmaster.

After he retired, he became active in a number of organizations that had concerns in the Lake Roosevelt area including being president of the Lake Roosevelt Property Owners Association. Several times he was a delegate to the continental meeting of the Unitarian Universalist Association. For 10 years he was treasurer of the Ice Age Floods Institute that promotes knowledge and appreciation of the features left by the ancient floods across Eastern Washington. He continued to be active in this organization. He was a member of the Grant County Board of Equalization. Jim was also active in the Coulee Corridor National Scenic Byway group.

Survivors include his daughters Georgia (Jason) Bomhold of Ephrata and Gayle of Portland, son Clyde (Debbie) of Terrebonne, Oregon, two brothers Roy of Stanwood and Lee of Spokane., and three nieces. His father and mother and wife preceded him in death.

Arrangements are under the care of Nicoles Funeral Home of Ephrata. Please express your thoughts and memories for the family at www.nicolesfuneralhome.com.