James Leighton Wood

James Leighton Wood, age 73, passed away on January 31, 2018 at home in Seattle Washington, due to heart disease.

He was born on September 29, 1944 to Francis and Mary Wood in Lynden, WA. Dr. Frank Wood, his grand-father delivered him. James was known as Jim to his family and friends.

He was a kind and gentle soul.

After completing high school, he attended college. During his attendance, he was drafted into the army. He served in the United States Army, less than 2 years as an E3 Private First Class (PFC) in the Vietnam War.

After he returned home, he went back to college. He then worked in Alaska for a little over a year to blubber seals. After the season was over, he came home and resided in Issaquah, WA for 30 years. Until his parents passed away in 2000, he moved back to his family home. Jim never married nor had any children, but he was an Uncle and Great-Uncle.

Jim was preceded in death by his father Francis, mother Mary and brother Edward. He is survived by his nieces, Jennifer Hinkley, Courtney Gilmour, and Dawn Kellam; his nephews, Mark Wood, Joseph Wood, Bryan Wood, and Robert Wood. His Great-Nephew Jonathan Rushing Jr. and many loving extended family members and friends.

Jim enjoyed gardening, he was proud of his vegetable garden and canned all his surplus yield. He loved dabbling with different spices to explore the taste and textures. He loved swimming, rollerblading and bicycling. He loved traveling everywhere to folk dancing festivals, as he danced and played his accordion, this was the joy of his life. He would also play at the Nordic Heritage Museum and his neighborhood gatherings. One to two times a year, Jim would travel on vacation to Hawaii to soak up the sun. He would also take trips around the northwest playing different golf courses.

He was a thinker, as he would explore possibilities and write essays of his beliefs and scientific theories. He read a lot about scientific, philosophical theories about the earth, God and universe. He was very sweet and thoughtful to those who he had met. He made several donations over the years to many charities, such as Foundation for America Veterans, Operation Smile, American Red Cross, Seattle Children’s Hospital, and Breast Cancer Society.

In his early years, he would play a variety of sports like football, baseball, basketball, and wall tennis with a group of guys at Olympic View School and he was on the Church of Brethren basketball team.

Jim will be greatly missed by all those family and friends who were fortunate to have known him.

Memorial Service to be held on June 5^th, 2018 at 2:30pm at Tahoma National Cemetery 18600 SE 240^th St, Kent, WA.