Funeral homes often submit obituaries as a service to the families they are assisting. However, we will be happy to accept obituaries from family members pending proper verification of the death.
Bronsco Jim Sr. was born April 8, 1939, in ‘Tuum’ Toppenish, Wash., to Howard and Maggie (Waters) Jim. He attended school in Roosevelt, Wash. Bronsco was an avid fisherman along the Columbia River, the creeks that flowed into the river and notably the Celilo Falls. After the falls were covered by the building of the Dalles Dam he continued to exercise his rights as a Columbia River Indian and fished the gillnet seasons, even building a scaffold with his son-in-law Devery. Fishing and hunting kept him fit and healthy, he loved the hard work that it demanded.
He met and married the love of his life Ella Jean at 18 and they had 7 daughters and one son (Lisa, Lorna, Joni, Tina, Susie, Theresa, Elsie and Bronsco Jr.). They were married for 48 years. His love for Ella was eternal, never to remarry after her death in 2004.
He retired from Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad in 2004 after many years of hard work and service. And he always praised his wife for her love and support reminding us he just wanted to take care of his family. He was never an idle man though he kept busy teaching his grandkids to always have a side hustle, never to rely on the government or a tribal dollar. He especially liked to take off on his road trips, returning with stories and sharing pictures of his many hikes in places such as Moab, Utah, the Grand Canyon, and many national forests. He made many trips to Disneyland taking first his own children, his grandchildren and even his great-grandchildren. He was still planning one last trip this fall, thus, proving his love of life.
Bronsco was a father figure to many of his family members, he took many of his nephews, brothers-in-law and grandsons on their quest for first kill and first fish endeavors.
Bronsco enjoyed his life to the fullest, he was a sports fan and enjoyed razzing his grandchildren and their sports teams, often cheering against whomever they cheered for, just to get a rise out of them and add some fun. But most of all you can see him enjoying NASCAR at the Phoenix and Las Vegas raceways, although his children and nephews have memories of traveling to many raceways around the Pacific Northwest and California. He had his favorite drivers, but it was the engines and motor craft he seemed to love the most. If you ever sat and listened to him reminisce about anything, it usually involves a car, he could tell you the year, make, model, and color with such passion.
In 2013 he was diagnosed with renal cancer and started the regiment needed to keep on living, two years later he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma. Still maintaining his best lifestyle, he continued his treatment and did his best to show his family that life was worth living even though he was sick. He always praised God, good health and all the prayers for his longevity with cancer.
 August 31, 2019, he left this world to rejoin all those he loved and yearned for. Leaving all his love and teachings with his family of 5 generations as he was a great-great-grandfather. He was laid to rest at Pine Creek Cemetery, Monday, September 2, 2019.
Preceding him were his parents; siblings; wife Ella Jean; grandson Jake Richards; great-grandson Goose.
He leaves behind his 8 children; 23 grandchildren; many great-grandchildren; and 2 great-great-grandchildren. Also, at the family home his son BJ Jr.; daughter Lisa; granddaughter Dawn Joline; her children Jaycene, Ira, and Luke.
Thank you to all those at the Celilo Cancer Center for many years of compassion and support and John Washines for all your unwavering help when he needed it most. To Providence Hospice for making his final laps a bit easier on his family. And all of you who kept him in your prayers, he gave you all so much credit.
To plant a tree in memory of Bronsco Jim, Sr. as a living tribute, please visit Tribute Store.
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism
that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness
accounts, the history behind an article.
(0) entries
Sign the guestbook.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.