Obituary of James Joseph Terhar

James Joseph Terhar Jim was born April 9, 1923 in Seattle, Washington, and died of long-term complications from a genetic disorder, Hemochromatosis , on March 4, 2011, at St. Peter hospital in Olympia, Washington. Jim met Gertrude Moss in high school and eventually married her on August 1, 1945. In total, they shared 65 years together. Jim attended Seattle College but his dream was to be a pilot. He left college and signed up with the Army Air Corp to fulfill his dream. He was a B26 Bomber pilot from August 30, 1943, to November 18, 1945. He served in several battles, including the legendary Battle of the Bulge. When Jim returned from the war, he attempted to finish his schooling, but then decided to take a job with the Washington State Patrol (WSP). He worked for the WSP from September 10, 1951, to June 12, 1978, when he retired. During his time with the WSP, he was the head of the Seattle and Eastern Washington Driver License Office, Head of the King County Drug Unit, and obtained the rank of Major. Jim seemed to be a true renaissance man and was great at everything he did! His hobbies over the years included: baseball (he was scouted to be a professional pitcher while attending flight school but turned it down so he could be a pilot), snow skiing, painting, speaking French, flying remote control airplanes, making fly fish lures and fly fishing, astronomy, carving ducks, sailing, golf, building trains, archery, bird hunting, skeet shooting, and reading the weather (apparently he was quite the weatherman). Jim is survived by his wife Gertrude Terhar, his son Jim Terhar, his daughter Ann Podruchny, seven grandchildren (Renee, Jeremy, Chad, Jared, Blake, Brooke, and Scott), and two great-grandchildren (Peyton and Gavin). To honor Jim’s life, a service will be held on March 25, 2011, at 11:00 a.m. at the Tahoma National Cemetery located at 18600 SE 240th St., Kent, WA 98042. To leave memories of Jim or condolences for the family, click on "View Guestbook" below.