James “Jim” Peters, 66, was called home to our Lord on June 1, 2024 after a short but intense battle with cancer. Jim died as he lived, in the home that he himself built on a mountaintop in Discovery Bay, surrounded by loved ones.
He was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on August 28, 1957 to Ellsworth “Pete” and Arlene Peters, and moved as a toddler with his family to White Bear Lake, Minnesota. In 1970, the family moved again, this time to Washington, where Jim lived for the rest of his life. He graduated from Bellevue’s Newport High School in 1976 and subsequently embarked on an adventure aboard a missionary sailboat. He made it as far as Port Townsend, where he felt called by God to stay. Jim never again lived anywhere but the Olympic Peninsula, where he loved boating, hunting, fishing, raising many animals over the years, and being surrounded by the beauty of nature.
Jim crammed a lot of living into his time on earth, and his interests and careers were many. He tried his hand at countless different types of work, a few of which included painting houses, operating heavy equipment, digging graves, working for the Port Townsend Police Department, driving the paddlewheel boat Storm King on Lake Crescent, and building and operating several of the first espresso stands on the Peninsula. He was a gifted salesman, and sold everything from Amway to high end real estate. At the time of his death, he served as President of the nonprofit Restoring American Values Through Education (RAVE). Jim was a lifelong entrepreneur, and took great pride in owning many businesses, including a landscaping company in his younger years, Northwest Forex Trading, and Jim Peters Marketing. One of his most successful businesses was Property Buying Tours, which took groups of more than 100 investors on bus trips in lucrative real estate markets throughout the country to purchase pre-construction properties. Jim was the public face of the company, speaking on stage all over the United States. Above all, Jim had a lifelong passion for sharing his love of Jesus and the message of eternal salvation. He attended King’s Gate Bible School and preached at churches throughout Western Washington. In 1992, Jim established New Life Fellowship Foursquare Church in Joyce, where he served as senior pastor for several years. At first, the fledgling church met at Crescent School, but soon moved into the old Salt Creek Tavern, which Jim completely renovated.
Jim believed deeply in creating connections and making an impact in the lives of others. Over the years, he coached youth and high school sports, planned and hosted countless gatherings of family and friends, where he was always at the center of the action, and managed a camp in Discovery Bay that provided shelter for people experiencing homelessness, as an outreach of Seattle’s Peniel Mission. During this time, he also created a “walk for the homeless,” where he led a group on foot from Portland to Seattle to raise awareness and funds for the unhoused. In his later years, Jim played Santa every Christmas for his daughter Heather’s Preschool class.
Jim is preceded in death by his parents and his sister Karen Peterson. He is survived by his wife Elizabeth, his first wife Vicki, and their four children, Heather, Justin, Nathan (Colleen), and Tara (engaged to Matt Hilger). He is survived by Elizabeth’s children Nick (Riley) Baggett, Matthew Baggett (partner Lena Robison), and Katie (Isaiah) Henderson, and by his grandchildren: his son Nathan and Colleen’s three girls, Felicity, Adeline, and Lucy, Nick and Riley’s three children, CJ, Hugo, and Izzy, and Katie and Isaiah’s two children, Natalie and Ezekiel. Jim is also survived by his sister Diane (Mark) Richards, his brother Tom (Kaylene) Peters, and his sister Gayle (Randy) Sikes, along with his nieces and nephews and their children, and a wide circle of friends.
Jim is remembered as a larger than life figure, as a force of nature, and a creative visionary. His stories, ability to see the world in a way no one else did, and his outside-of-the-box solutions to whatever problem he came across will be sorely missed by all who love him. Help us celebrate Jim’s one-of-a-kind life at Hillcrest Baptist Church, 205 Black Diamond Rd, Port Angeles, WA 98363 on Saturday, June 29th at 1:00 PM. Colorful attire is encouraged.
