James "Jim" Loyd Earley, age 82, passed away December 24, 2021, at home in Concrete, Washington.  He was born January 29, 1939, in Brownsville, Texas to Monroe and Elsie May (Baker) Earley.  He was the oldest of five children, Jerry, Sidney, Yavonne and Cindy all of whom preceded him in death.

The Earley family moved from Texas to Willits, California in 1956, when Jim was a Senior in high school.  He played football for Lancaster High School and was a star lineman.  At a church picnic he met Ramona Tarr during a game of Red Rover.  You could say he "sent Ramona over" because the two were married in December of 1957 until her death in 2000.  They moved their family from Tracy, CA to Concrete, WA in 1975 when they bought Tarr's Resort (AKA Baker Lake Resort) from Ramona's Aunt Alida.  They sold the resort and Jim went to work for Seattle City Light in 1980 until his retirement as the Projects Manager in 2003.

Through his years in the Concrete Community Jim was a very integral part of the youth Sports Programs.  He was instrumental in starting the Concrete Lions Boosters Club in 1977, lending support to all of the Concrete High School's sports program and was an active member until his death.  He served on the Concrete School Board for many years.  Any given night you could see Jim out at the football or baseball fields coaching boys, or just giving the coaches a word or two of advice.  He coached and influenced boys and girls of all ages and shaped the youth of the upper valley for so long it would be hard to find anyone under the age of 50 that he did not influence in one way or the other.  He could be seen coaching the boys in Babe Ruth Baseball while Mona kept score.  And they loved it.

After Mona's passing, Jim had a wonderful relationship with Valerie Moody who was his life partner until his passing.  Jim and Val traveled to Australia, England and all over the USA.  He said on many occasions that most men only find one true love in their lifetime, but he was lucky enough to have found two.  Valerie was a true and loving companion for Jim until his death.  She is a true lady.

He leaves behind his daughters, Sonda Earley of Concrete, Billie (Tony) Bjornstad of LaConner; grandchildren, whom he loved so very much, Katie (Tyler) Colwell of Concrete, Rusty (Allie) Wilson of San Diego, Kyle Wilson of Concrete, Levi Lowry of Birdsview; great-grandchildren who brought so much joy to him in the end, Cail and Luca Wilson of Concrete, Maddox Wilson of San Diego and Landon and Evelyn Colwell of Concrete.  The family would also like to acknowledge Arthur, Juan and Eli Sanchez whom he thought of as his own and loved very much.

Jim was preceded in death by his parents; all of his siblings; wife of 45 years, Ramona Evelyn Tarr Earley in 2000; son, Dennis Earley in 2005; daughter, Jeri Lynn Earley Lowry in 2016.

We would also like to thank Cathy Lowry for being there and the Nurses at the Sedro-Woolley Oncology who were amazing and made his time there much easier.

Please send any donations to the Concrete Lions Boosters Club at any Savi Bank.

Share your memories of Jim and sign the online guest register.