James Davidson

Longtime Grandview resident James Arthur Davidson passed away at age 78 on Thursday, December 5, 2024, in Tacoma, Washington. His wife of 54 years, Nancy Davidson, was at his side as he walked into the arms of his Savior Jesus Christ. Jim was born on August 21, 1946, in Anaconda, Montana. He grew up in Moses Lake, Washington, graduating from Moses Lake High School in 1964 and attending Big Bend Community College. While in school, he worked for the Moses Lake Parks and Recreation Department as a lifeguard. Jim late attended Washington State University in Pullman and worked as a trainer in the Athletics Department, before choosing to interrupt his education to enlist in the United States Navy in September 1969. He served as a Hospital Corpsman at Naval Air Station Barbers Point, Hawaii and subsequently was assigned to the USS Sanctuary, a hospital ship stationed in Da Nang Harbor, Vietnam in 1970. Before leaving for Vietnam, he married his college sweetheart Nancy in Moses Lake. The Vietnam War made a profound impact on Jim's life. The Sanctuary provided medical care to U.S. and South Vietnamese troops wounded in combat. It also cared for civilians, including visits in-country to the Montagnards and children sheltered in orphanages near Da Nang. While Jim would later speak of awaiting incoming helicopters and his feelings about the types of patients expected, he rarely spoke of his experiences with specific traumatic cases he attended, except in the company of veterans with shared combat experiences. Jim felt great pride in the care he and his shipmates provided and of the legacy of the Sanctuary's service during Vietnam. It was the foundation for the quality and compassion of the care that he would eventually bring to his long civilian career. After he was discharged from the Navy in 1971, Jim was accepted into Class 5 of MEDEX Northwest at the University of Washington in Seattle. In a program with his fellow military medics and corpsmen, Jim graduated as one of the nations's earliest Physician Assistants, a profession intended at that time to deliver healthcare to rural and underserved communities. Considering his options throughout the state, Jim and Nancy chose to settle in Grandview in 1973, where he worked in an acute family medical practice on Euclid Street for 17 years. He cared for people of all ages in Grandview clinic, served on call and made rounds at the hospitals in Sunnyside and Prosser, called on nursing homes in the Lower Valley, and volunteered as a medic on the sidelines at home games for the Grandview High School football team. Jim was the first Physician Assistant in Washington licensed by the State's Board of Osteopathic Medicine. In 1989, Jim turned to occupational medicine, beginning work as a clinician at the Hanford Environmental Health Foundation (and subsequent contractors) in Richland, Washington. He provided routine, emergency, and specialized healthcare to the employees of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. In 2012, Jim retired, having practiced as a Physician Assistant for over 40 years. Jim's life of service extended far beyond his profession in healthcare. He devoted nearly all of his non-work life to causes near to his heart, focused on the honoring and well being of veterans and the character development of young men. For nearly 40 years, Jim was an active member, contributor, and leader in the Fred E. Hayes Post 57 of the American Legion in Grandview. he also contributed as the Legion's state level, including election to be the Washington Department Commander in 2013-2014. For 42 years, Jim was an adult leader in the Boy Scouts of America, starting with Cub Scout Pack 602 and later with Boy Scout Troop 643 of Grandview. Beyond these two organizations that received the vast majority of his energy until his passing, Jim served the community in other countless ways over the years, including for the Selective Service board, the Grandview Chamber of Commerce, the Grandview Library Board, the Bethany Presbyterian Church of Grandview, the Central Untied Protestant Church of Richland, and the Yakima County Veterans Advisory board. Jim is survived by his wife Nancy, his son Jon Eric Davidson, his daughter Jeanette Hahn, his son in law Darrell Hahn, and his granddaughter Rosie Hahn. He was preceded in death by his father Norman Davidson, his mother Alice Henry, and his infant son Sean Thomas Davidson. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of James Davidson, please visit our flower store.