James Thomas Sparling was born in Seattle to Thomas and Dorothy Sparling on Sept. 23, 1944, and passed away at his home in Freeland on April 23, 2009.
Jim grew up in Seattle and attended Shoreline High School, graduating in 1962.
During high school, he met the love of his life, Emily Engebretsen, while cleaning clams on Whidbey Island. They married in 1962.
Jim attended the University of Washington, graduating with a business degree in 1966. He started out working for IBM and then moved into a banking career. He worked for Rainier Bank/SeaFirst and then moved to San Francisco, Calif. when Security Pacific acquired them. He moved on to Chase Manhattan, where he became the senior vice president of its leasing operations for the Pacific Rim, moving him to Tokyo for several years. After leaving Chase, he worked for Bank of America in Seattle so that he could be closer to family.
After his grandchildren were born, Jim retired from banking to sell real estate on Whidbey Island, where he worked for Windermere Real Estate until his death.
The great tragedy of his life was the death of his wife Emily in 1977, leaving him with two young children, Eric and Jennifer.
Several years later, Jim married Debora Boeck, who remained a good friend after they were no longer married. Jim’s life was very full, with substantial world travel that provided him with many stories that he loved to tell.
He was a passionate golfer, and his travels allowed him to play on many of the world’s most famous golf courses. He was also a great cook, even competing in barbecue competitions with his brother Don. Jim was an avid bridge player in later years and played with friends twice a week.
Jim loved to spend time with his family, and one of his greatest joys in the past several years was spending time playing video and online games with his grandchildren.
Jim was preceded in death by his first wife, Emily Engebretsen Sparling and by his father Thomas E. Sparling. Jim is survived by his mother Dorothy Sparling of Freeland; son T. Eric Sparling (Lori) of Centralia; daughter Jennifer Craig (Robert) of Bonney Lake; brother Donald Sparling (Nancy) of Bothell; brother Robert Sparling (Sherrill) of Shoreline; sister Susan Riggs of Langley; grandchildren Nolan and Emily Craig of Bonney Lake and numerous nieces and nephews.
Services will be held at 1 p.m. Tuesday, May 12 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Freeland.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Kiwanis Club of South Whidbey (PO Box 153, Langley, WA 98260). Arrangements with the assistance of Visser Funeral Home in Langley.
