JAMES LAWRENCE "JIM" BAALMAN ~ Class of 1962
October 13, 1944 - December 8, 2010





Jim died December 8, 2010, at his home in Deer Lodge, MT two years after he was diagnosed with lung cancer.

Born in Richland, on October 13, 1944, Jim was one of Kadlec Hospital's first babies. He was the fourth of six children of Raymond William Baalman, Sr. and Rose Marie Stephens Baalman. Raised in Richland, Jim graduated from Columbia High School there in 1962.

After high school, Jim joined the Navy hoping to see the world. However, he spent most of his Navy years in Washington state, on Whidbey Island. After finishing his military commitment, he married and moved back to the Tri-Cities to work at Hanford as an electrician, eventually with Bonneville Power. He and his first wife, Dianne Nece, had three children, Kristin, Jason (RIP), and Marlys, all born in the Tri-Cities. Several years after his divorce, Jim married Patti Millard in 1987, acquiring two stepsons, Ryan and Kyle Hersel, whom he helped raise, first in Vancouver, WA, then in Deer Lodge, MT where he and Patti made their home from 1989 on.

Upon retirement from Bonneville in 1996, Jim went to work as a consultant with Areva (Pittsburgh, PA, office). With this position, Jim fulfilled his desire to see the world, traveling to many out-of-the-way, off-the-beaten-track places on several continents to troubleshoot and supervise the installation of industrial-sized electrical breakers. Jim continued in this position until his health prevented it.

Jim was a great outdoorsman, enjoying hunting, fishing, target-practice, and training dogs - especially black Labs. And then there was golf, a passion he discovered late in life and pursued with keen, hole-in-one enthusiasm.

He was deeply loved by his family and friends and will be dearly missed by them. He was a quiet man (except when discussing politics), so his feelings were not always apparent to everyone, but his love and devotion were real and abundant, even if not always obvious.

Jim is survived by his mother, Rose Baalman, Richland; wife, Patti, Deer Lodge; daughters, Kristin and Marlys; stepsons, Ryan and Kyle; sisters, Darleene ('53) Brown, Kirkland, WA, and her husband Delbert, and Barbara ('56) Jones, Richland and her husband, Kip; three brothers, Ray Baalman Jr. ('61), Pasco, and his wife Betsy, John Baalman ('67), West Richland, and his wife Deanna, and Rich Baalman, Kennewick, and his wife, Debbie; and many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his infant son, Jason Lawrence (1975); father, Ray Baalman, Sr. (2001); and two of his nieces, Lisa Jones Wood (2000) and Maria Brown Carter (2010).

Funeral Mass was celebrated at Monday, December 13, in Immaculate Conception Church in Deer Lodge. Burial followed in Hillcrest Cemetery in Deer Lodge.

Memorials: Deer Lodge Golf Course, Box 880, Deer Lodge, MT 59722.