James Buckel

James Wilbur (Jim) Buckel of Poulsbo passed away peacefully on March 13. He was born in Anderson, Indiana, in 1933 to George and Lucy (Ewing) Buckel, also parents to William L. and Georganna M. Buckel. His family moved to Englewood, Colorado, in 1945, where Jim attended Englewood High School (class of 1949). He graduated from the University of Colorado with a BS in Civil Engineering (1957). Through the Hiking Club at CU, he met his future wife, Sylvia (Halle), a Minneapolis native. After graduation, he worked for the Water Resources and State Forest Services in California, then moved back to Denver to work for the US Bureau of Public Roads, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and National Park Service. Retiring in 1988, He and Sylvia moved to Hayward, Wisconsin, where they lived until they moved to Poulsbo in 2007. Sylvia died in 2014 after a long illness.
Jim loved the outdoors, enjoying hiking, camping, fishing, boating, and music. As a high school student, he was in an amateur photographer club with his darkroom. From his dad, he learned automobile repair (always stick with General Motors!) and home carpentry, later doing all the interior finish-work on his house on Nelson Lake in Hayward. From his mom, he learned humor (the non-German side of the family) and a love of green beans. His love of music, specifically Mozart, was fostered by his wife Sylvia, an accomplished pianist. In recent years, he became a neighborhood fixture in Poulsbo Gardens with his daily walks and three-wheeler rides.
When asked late in life what he was most happy about, he answered, “My family.” He is survived by his sister Georganna Goe, his daughter Suzanna Jefferis and husband P. Grier (Jefferis) of Poulsbo, daughter Julie of Poulsbo, son Steven and wife Cheryl (Skaggs) of Bremerton, nieces Dian (Goe) Babassikas and Linda Buckel, as well as grandchildren Elena Payne (Aaron), Leland Jefferis (Katie and upcoming baby!), Jeffrey Buckel, Andrea Buckel, honorary grandson Josh Skaggs, and great-grandson Marlin Payne.
Jim never did understand what the internet was, but he had a good life nevertheless.