Jim A Benson

Jim Allen Benson, the hardest working man you ever met, passed away at his home in Moscow, surrounded by his children and grandchildren on June 10.

Jim was born on September 26, 1940, in Ethridge, Tennessee, in the shadow of the Great Depression. He spent his childhood on the farm picking cotton, growing tobacco and driving the tractor from age six. For fun he and his crew hunted squirrels and possums, fished from a boat they fashioned out of sheet metal and tar, and rehabbed old cars. Notable was a 1934 Chevrolet with no seats or brakes, problems solved with sawed-off kitchen chairs and creative clutch work.

After high school, he went to the University of Tennessee where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Education and later a Master’s degree in Agronomy. During his time in Knoxville, Jim delivered milk to help pay his way through school, learned to play the guitar, and grew his collection of lifelong friends. More importantly, Jim met and married his love, Betty, and together they welcomed their first son Tim.

The family spent a few years in Raleigh, North Carolina, where Jim was an instructor on a peanut breeding program at NC State. Jim had fallen in love with the Pacific Northwest in college while working on a fire tower for the Forest Service in Eastern Oregon, and in 1967 the family moved to Sandpoint, Idaho.

In Sandpoint, Jim managed an agricultural experiment station that developed crops especially suited for North Idaho, such as varieties of hops, mint and grains. Jim and Betty bought property on Baldy Mountain in a handshake deal and built their home there. It was a labor of love as Jim spent his evenings and weekends flooring, framing, and roofing. Jim and Betty eventually added a second story to their home, along with two more children: James and Krisila. Jim and Betty like to play volleyball and pinochle with friends and neighbors, and Jim enjoyed fishing and hunting. A highlight of the year was the weeklong elk hunting trip to the North Fork of the Clearwater River with his hunting buddies and sons.

In 1983, the family moved to Moscow when Jim took a job with Cenex as an Agronomy Sales Specialist. Jim and Betty again built their own house from scratch, only using outside help to excavate, pour the foundation, and dig the well. Jim began his “hobby” of snow removal of the shared private drive, judged produce in local fairs, and continued to grow his network of friends. In retirement Jim started a second career as a crop adjuster to continue to get out in the fields and spend time with farmers.

Although Jim lived with leukemia (CLL) for 26 years, he was fueled by time spent doing the things he enjoyed: picking and grinning on the guitar, tending his land, growing top-notch corn and peaches, baking cookies, following the Mariners and Gonzaga basketball, and sharing meals with family, neighbors and friends.

A hallmark of Jim’s life was his ability to make friends, sustain friendships, and to create strong bonds with and among neighbors. In addition, he knew how to do a great many things: shear sheep, make knives from scratch, pin shovels, darn socks, fry an egg worthy of a Michelin Star. He could build most anything, grow most anything, fix most anything. He was always willing to lend a hand or a tool, and he was known by many as a patient, generous teacher – except with his own children, who were expected to have innate knowledge of everything he knew how to do!

Jim is survived by his children Tim, James (Susie) and Krisila Benson; granddaughters Megan and Jenna; siblings Diane Brewer and Howard (Ginny) Benson; extended family, neighbors and friends. Jim was predeceased by his beloved wife Betty, siblings Peggy Benson and Jon Ed Benson, brother-in-law Ken Brewer, and parents Allen Bennett Benson and Roxie Bailey Benson.

A joint celebration of life will be held for Jim and Betty in late summer or fall in Moscow.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations in Jim Benson’s name to the Idaho Food Bank, the Moscow Rural Fire District, or Leukemia and Lymphoma Research (specify Fund 17310) at the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) Knight Cancer Institute.