James Paul Heryford

James Paul Heryford was born to Henry and Wanda Heryford in Lakeview, Oregon on December 28, 1940. There were six children: Tommy, Henry Jr., Dale, Ronnie, James and Judy all raised in Klamath Falls, Oregon. His parents, Tommy, Junior and Ronnie all proceeded Jim in death. Jim joined the United States Airforce in 1959 where he served 20 years with a combat tour in Vietnam, as well as overseas tours in Korea, Japan, Taiwan. Idaho, Kansas and California. While in Korea he met his wife Sun Cha Kim and they were married in April 19, 1961. The depths of his caring for others and kindness spoke volumes as he married an equally spirited Korean woman orphaned in childhood by the Korean War. Kim always said her life began when she met Jim. They had their daughter Susan Marie and after a 20 year Air Force career, settled in Boise, Idaho. Jim started his second career at the Dennis Dillon GMC dealership in Boise and worked as a mechanic until he fully retired. Jim was Susan’s steady hand and steadfast example of strength and calm. He was the peaceful quieter for his granddaughter Kristin as infant, to her the coolest coffee drinker in the world and the soft place of security for both of them. Jim was widowed in September of 1992. In 2000, he met Jean Blewitt Kranz and they married in March of the same year. They resided in Meridian, Idaho and then finally Nampa, Idaho both retired with their dogs which was a big focal point of their lives. Jean came with her own adult children, MariJo Jones, Patty Kast, Daniel Dewitt and Michael Smith. Michael fondly called him Big Daddy Jim and it stuck. He was widowed again in 2012 but Jean’s brood stayed on. Jim remained in his home in Nampa with his beloved Boston Terrier, Duckie, his ever-faithful companion. Jean’s daughter, MariJo Jones and her husband moved into his home to help with household and health issues in 2014 to date. He seemed to enjoy the company and the intermittent presence of their twin girls. Every night before bed, the girls would march out to the living room, and in their sing-song voices would say, “Good Night” to which he would either respond with “Sweet Dreams” or some other fun response in Japanese and the girls would giggle off to bed. Jim enjoyed fishing and hunting, driving around town to check out new developments, tinkering in his garage, helping us kids with our car troubles, puttering in the yard, and following Facebook profiles of his daughter and granddaughter. Jim looked forward to phone calls from Susan that would typically last 2 to 3 hours. He talked about some of his military experiences, Susan’s childhood and current events. He had an easy way about him and a smile and a laugh that was full of light and joy. This man would give you the shirt of his back even if he had no other. He loved spaghetti night, when Rob cooked up a rib eye steak, and MariJo’s tilapia. Lazy nights, we ended up with Sonic hamburgers, fries for the dogs and the occasional milkshake. He ended each evening around midnight with milk and cookies for both himself and Duckie. On March 19, 2018, Jim lost his long battle with COPD and passed away peacefully at the St. Luke’s Hospital in Nampa, Idaho. He is survived by his sister Judy and brother Dale both of Klamath Falls, his daughter Susan Fortener of Atlanta, Georgia and her husband Michael, granddaughter Kristin Branaum, Duckie, beloved companion, and inherited children, MariJo Jones, Michael Smith, Patty Kast and Daniel Dewitt.