James E. Dawson

James E. (Jim) Dawson of Edmonds, Washington, formerly of Peoria, Arizona, and Billings, Montana, passed from this life and went home to be with his Lord and Savior on Sunday, September 13, 2020, two days after his 64th birthday.  He was born September 11, 1956, in Renton, Washington, the eighth of nine children of William O. and Eunice (Scott) Dawson.

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Jim spent the first 13 years of his life in Washington state, 11 in Burien and two in Auburn. He loved playing in the woods (he was Daniel Boone, of course), hiking and camping with his dad and brothers, camping at the beach with family, and being very active in his local Royal Ranger outpost, where he earned his Gold Medal of Achievement (the equivalent of an Eagle Scout). When his dad was transferred to the Oklahoma City FAA Training Center, the family moved and settled into a different life.  He met and made lifelong friends at Putnam City Assembly of God Church. Jim enjoyed weekend adventures exploring the area with his parents and sister Rose. He hunted rabbits, played golf with his dad, sang and played his trumpet in the church youth choir, attended church youth camps and Teen Roundups, roller skated, cut lawns for spending money, and held his first “real” job as a soda jerk.

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Two years later in 1972, Jim’s dad decided it was time to retire and move to Montana, where Jim’s sister Ruth and her family lived.  Time for another adventure!  At first, it was hard leaving behind his good friends in Oklahoma, but he soon settled in to life in the Big Sky Country. Jim attended Billings Senior High School graduating in 1974. Although school was never one of his main priorities, he looked forward to band class where he traded first chair trumpet back and forth with another player.  He was very active in the Lost and Found youth choir at First Assembly of God Church, singing (lead soloist), playing trumpet and drums, and traveling on summer choir tours from Minnesota to Canada to Washington state, plus many points in between. It was here at church that Jim met his sweetheart and wife, Rhonda Hearron. Jim was probably one of the fastest busboys ever, working after school and weekends at JB’s and Mr. Steak. He began developing his carpentry knowledge by working for his dad and brother-in-law, Stan Koffler, in the summers and on free Saturdays.

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Following graduation from high school, Jim traveled from the Midwest to Texas to California and then to the Pacific Northwest with The Musical Murphy Family. They ministered in song and in word the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jim contributed his God-given talents of singing and playing drums to this effort. There was also plenty of fun along the way with his buddy Bob Murphy. Following Jim’s year on the road, he and Rhonda chose to attend Northwest College, in Kirkland, Washington. After two quarters, they both realized this was not the right path for them—they were ready to get married!

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On August 21, 1976, Jim and Rhonda embarked on their 44 year adventure together.  Their three children soon followed—Amanda in 1978, Nicholas in 1980, and Natalie in 1983.

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Soon thereafter, Jim began working for a local house framing company where he developed his knowledge and skills of the trade.  It was while working for this company that Jim had a “little” accident. While stapling off plywood one afternoon on a cool day in the early spring, his stapler gun jammed up. Rather than doing the safe thing and unplugging the gun, he turned it around toward him and began fiddling with it to get it unstuck. Of course, the gun went off and planted an inch and a half staple into his chest.  Off to the ER he went with one of his coworkers.  Thank goodness for layered clothing—it kept that staple from reaching his heart, according to the doctor. After quite a bit of discussion on treatment, the doctor simply took a small pair of plyers and pulled the staple out. There appeared to be no ill effects from the accident. However, the rosin on the end of the staple unknowingly introduced something into his chest that was to lie dormant for nearly 20 years.

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After framing for this company less than a year, the itch to be out on his own grew. With a house sketch on a restaurant paper napkin and a handshake, Dawson Construction was born. Jim framed his first house in Silesia, Montana. For the next 8+ years, either joining with a partner (Steve Ventling) or just hiring employees, Jim framed hundreds of houses and multiplex buildings across Montana, concentrating in the Billings area. When the oil industry bottomed out in 1985, new construction suffered along with it.  Jobs were scarce.  With no end in sight, Jim made the difficult decision in early 1986 to head to Phoenix, Arizona, where he knew construction was booming. After a few short weeks there working on a framing crew, he landed a job with a good sized builder as a construction superintendent. Jim headed back to Billings in June to move the family to Arizona.

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Life in Arizona was busy…between working a fast-paced job and building plenty of patio covers on the side, Jim played on the company’s softball team, helped coach Nic’s softball teams, sang in a men’s quartet at church, did a little camping, hunting, and fishing, led multiple family adventures, and kept up with the challenges of raising a family and maintaining a wonderful home. Jim made lifelong friends in Phoenix—Curt Ausdahl through church and Bob Singleton through work. Even while he enjoyed the arid Arizona climate, servicing the family pool, and developing more lifelong friendships, Montana started to call him home. In the summer of 1993, Jim made a quick trip back to Billings to see if the construction industry had made a comeback.  After talking with former associates and checking out the lay of the land, he decided he could chance moving the family back home and make another go of it. So, back to Phoenix he went to pack up his tools, resign his job, and begin preparing the family for another move.

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Frontier Framers, Inc. was created with partner Mark Ventling soon after returning to Billings in August 1993.  His family joined him in early November of that year. Jim and Mark stayed very busy framing houses, multiplexes, and even a large timber-framed motel in Big Sky. Within two months of completing and moving into the first family home he built, all construction work came to a halt with a surprise cancer diagnosis in January 1996.

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After recovering from exploratory surgery that winter, Jim began radiation treatment for his Hodgkins lymphoma. Suspiciously, the cancer was located in the exact area where the staple entered his chest in the construction accident 19 years before. He was an exemplary patient. God had been good to Jim. His radiation therapy was cut short due to the huge success of reducing and eradicating the tumors concentrated right next to his heart. Now it was time to recover, gain strength back, and figure out how to continue supporting the family. In May of that year, Dawson Builders was born.  With the help and guidance of a local banker willing to take a risk, Jim started his first spec home. He was off and running! Dawson Builders, Inc. built hundreds of quality homes in the Billings area over the next 20+ years. Jim’s goal was to hand the keys to a new homebuyer to a house he himself would be proud to live in.

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Unfortunately, in November 1997, the side effect of radiation began to rear its ugly face. Jim’s heart was damaged in the radiation process.  He underwent many procedures to correct the electrical impulse issues and was on quite a few medications to control the problems. All this treatment led to other concerns involving his major organs. However, Jim was a trooper. He always had a positive attitude and continued to live life as if he were not sick at all. He continued building homes, volunteering where he could, raising the family, and overall enjoying life.

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Jim’s love of the outdoors led to hiking, hunting big game, and some fishing thrown in for good measure.  He always said hunting became a great excuse to get out into the wilderness, make memories with his good buddies, and collect funny stories of their (mis)adventures. He liked to share those tales of his hunting experiences with the Ventling family—Len, Steve, and Mark; Curt Ausdahl in Arizona; Big Gerry Anderson and Big Keith Elder in Montana. Now, those were some of the best of times.

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Jim had a big heart. He was always willing to help anyone in need. He volunteered unofficially in multiple areas and officially in others. He was active on a statewide level with the Montana Royal Rangers, a Christ-focused scouting group for boys. He spent a few weekends every summer building new projects at their camp in the Little Snowy Mountains, as well as serving on the state Royal Ranger Staff. His goal was to make sure every boy attending Ranger Mountain Adventure had an opportunity to encounter Christ, know that adults truly cared about them, and have a ton of fun in that camping setting.  Jim built the first “Provision House” as he dubbed it. He relentlessly sought out subcontractors and suppliers to volunteer their time and materials toward building this house.  All proceeds from the sale of the house were donated to the Christ-centered organization, Provision International, who provided medical supplies, clothing, shoes, and building materials and labor to those in desperate need across the globe. Because of his health issues, Jim was never able to volunteer for one of these out-of-country missions trips, but he was determined in helping them meet the needs of children and families who were much less fortunate that he was.

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If you knew Jim Dawson, you’ve probably heard him sing. Music was one of his passions. In his early adult years, he sang at First Assembly of God in Billings more times than one can count. He was in the adult choir, sang solos, duets, and he loved being in the Master’s Touch, a men’s quartet. He even played the role of Jesus more than once in church Easter productions. He moved over to Lockwood Chapel of Hope volunteering as worship leader the first two years of the establishment of that church.  Moving to Arizona did not deter his music ministry. He immediately began singing in his local church and even started a new men’s quartet with his friend Curt. After moving back to Billings in the early ‘90s, Jim joined the worship team at Faith Chapel and sang in many Good Friday, Easter, and Christmas services for the next 20 years.  He led worship during Wednesday night Bible studies for a while and really enjoyed working with Stan and Ginger Simmons, Gary Matsdorf, Rob Griggs, Ben Blakeslee, and the rest of the Faith Chapel staff and volunteers. The last couple of years in Billings were spent at Parkhill Assembly of God singing and drumming for Sunday worship.

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Jim was a songwriter. Who knows how many mini cassette tapes are filled with ideas downloaded to him for new songs! One life goal was fulfilled when his good friend, Chuck Holland, helped him record his album. It may have taken him several years, but Jim was proud of the music his Heavenly Father had given him. Thank you, Chuck (and other background instrumentalists and vocalists), for helping Jim’s dream become a reality.

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Jim loved his kids—but when those grandkids started coming along, that was it. He loved having Alana and Isabella at the house, helping with whatever projects he had going on at the time. Whether it was prepping the backyard ponds for the summer, planting the garden, pulling weeds, or harvesting pumpkins in the fall; not to mention raking endless leaves and shoveling piles of snow all winter, he wanted the girls with him. They built birdhouses in the garage together, hung peanut butter-covered pine cones in the trees, and watched as the red squirrels moved in to take over the bird food supply.   Jim encouraged them to go with him to the mountains as often as they wanted to help him build his “treehouse” on his property in the Little Snowies. However, the most fun they had was their trips to Disneyland and the beach. He was so happy when the girls came to visit for a couple of weeks in Arizona. Jim was thrilled when his grandson, Joshua, was born in 2016 and joined the family. He had so many plans to take him fishing and camping. Unfortunately, that was not to be.

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In 2016, Jim and Rhonda began the plan to move back to sunny, warm Arizona. Even though he loved Montana with all his heart, the cold, snowy winters had taken their toll on Jim’s physical wellbeing. He felt like the arid climate of the southwest would do him so much good. Throughout that year and the next, Jim readied the house to be sold and wound down homebuilding. Projects were completed, the house was sold, goodbyes were said, and they were off to Arizona. Even though it was hard leaving family and friends behind, Jim was anxious to see what new adventures were before him.

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In early 2018, the UHaul truck was unloaded into the rental house they found in Peoria. Soon after that, several losses occurred. A quick trip to San Jose, California was made, due to the loss of Jim’s brother Tom. About two weeks after that, he made a trip back to Billings for memorial services for Big Gerry Anderson, his mother-in-law Virginia Hearron, and then Ben Blakeslee. Once back, they settled into life in Arizona, found a new wonderful church, and reconnected with friends from the past. Semi-retirement was going to be nice. After a relaxing spring and summer, Jim decided it was time to go back to work. He was hired by a medium-sized home building company as a construction superintendent. It was an adjustment going back to an early morning schedule, but he did enjoy having a finger back in the homebuilding world.  One of Jim’s favorite activities was attending the men’s Bible study every Saturday morning at Harvest Church. He truly found a home there and so enjoyed building new friendships with the guys.

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In October 2019, Jim contracted valley fever. He spent the next two months in Mayo Clinic hospital in Scottsdale, where he spent several weeks in the ICU fighting for his life and was able to recover enough to return home.  With not being able to return to work, he and Rhonda made the difficult decision to leave Arizona (where it was possible to contract valley fever again) and move to Washington state. Their daughter Amanda and her husband John graciously volunteered to welcome them into their home while Jim recovered from his illness. By the first of March 2020, Jim and Rhonda were in Washington state as the pandemic was coming into full force in this country. Hopes were high that Jim would make a full recovery and be able to get back to a busy life. Unfortunately, that was not to be. Jim’s body had had enough over the last nearly 25 years.  The Lord called him home in the early morning hours of Sunday, September 13, 2020.

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He was greeted in heaven by his Heavenly Father, his grandparents; parents Bill and Eunice; siblings Diana, Tom, Barbara, Lois, and John; parents-in-law Milam and Virginia; other family members; and good buddies Keith, Gerry, and Jonathan.

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He leaves behind his loving wife Rhonda; his children Amanda (John) Bender of Edmonds, Washington; Nicholas Dawson of Springfield, Oregon; and Natalie (Jake) Thomas of Billings, Montana; three grandchildren Alana, Bella, and Joshua; sisters Dee Wollaston of Bethel Island, California; Ruth (Stan) Koffler of Yakima, Washington; and Rose (Mark) Dixon of Kennewick, Washington; sisters-in-law Pamela Poynter of Houston, Texas; Carol Hearron of Sidney, Montana; and Nan (Curt) Scollard of San Antonio, Texas; plus numerous nieces and nephews.

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Along with all his family, Jim’s greatest joys were his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, building projects, eating great home-cooked meals and baked goodies from Rhonda, singing and drumming at church, hunting and fishing with his good buddies (some of whom greeted him in Heaven), barbecuing for family, taking road trips, being in the woods, traveling to Hawaii, Ranger Mountain, Glacier Bible Camp, Mexican food restaurants, meeting Bob Singleton at Circle K after work for a “sodie water,” and visiting with good friends.

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Jim was a kind, loving Christian man whom we all miss dearly. He was one of the good guys.

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Until we are reunited again…