James Douglas Sanders

James Douglas Sanders was born on April 11, 1963 in Sycamore IL. He passed away on May 16, 2022 in Carson City, NV, age 59. He was known to most of us as Jim. His father is the late James Edward Sanders. His mother, Mary, is still with us. Jim spent the better part of his childhood in Illinois, growing up in Dekalb, then Sycamore and later Genoa. Jim was the oldest of three siblings. He has a brother Darren and a sister Marjorie. In his early teenage years, Jim and his family moved to Logan Utah. Later the family moved back to Illinois, settling in Byron, where Jim graduated from High School. He went on to study at Rock Valley College. Jim leaves behind a wife, Peggy, after 34 years of marriage. In Rockford in 1987 Jim met Peggy, through mutual friends. They were married on January 15, 1988. Jim has three children. Jim’s first child is James Joseph Sanders - that’s three generations of James Sanders, each with a different middle name. Jim’s other two children are Joshua Neal and Jody Caruth. He loved his wife, his three children and was blessed with six grandchildren and one great grandchild. When Jim and Peggy married they moved into an old farmhouse in Boone County Illinois. After 3 years they purchased their first home on Sunnyfield Road. A job transfer sent them to live in Gilbert Arizona for the next 3 years. Jims next career path took them to Temecula California for 20 years. Jim and Peggy set up an inviting and beautful household that drew in many guests over the years. Some of you may remember the videos Jim posted of a visiting bobcat that went on to have a litter of cubs in or near his property. And then there were the hummingbirds. Jim set up around seven or eight hummingbird feeders that were visited very frequently. He had to fill each feeder up twice a day. Jim bought a lot of sugar. In 2019 Jim and Peggy picked up stakes one more time, and retired to a large property near Dayton, Nevada. This quiet homestead had all of the space and peace Jim and Peggy required to pursue all their hobbies. Jim was a man of many interests and passions. One of Jim's passions was music. He played drums, piano and the guitar. He liked all types of music from the 30’s, country, rock and roll and more. His musical affinity started early listening to country and western at his grandmother’s knee. He played drums with his Mother’s band at a young age. Later he enjoyed playing in several local bands and played in the Temecula Community Band. Jim always wanted to share music with his children and grandchildren. He gifted many guitars and spent time playing and teaching the grandkids to play. We can not talk about Jim and not mention his passion for HAM radio, computers, and electronics. This interest dates back to when a professor at Rock Valley College Introduced him to Ham radio. Later his son Joshua was first to get his Ham license, Jim followed suit. Large antennas on Jim’s property and on his vehicles began to appear over the years. He became an expert and an instructor, and loved to help mentor new ham operators and helped many to obtain their licenses. Jim was Vice president and later President of The Golden Triangle Amateur Radio club in Southern California. After moving to Dayton he volunteered as President of the Sierra Radio Club in Nevada. In Nevada he assisted the Lyon County Sheriff as a volunteer Radio operator for Search and Rescue. Jim also volunteered for the STEM and Boy Scouts programs and so many others it is hard to mention them all. Jim's love for computers led him to pursue a career in Information Technology. He was an IT manager of many companies over the years. For the County of Riverside California, he was in charge of overseeing the needs of Hospitals, Fire Departments, Police Departments and emergency services, with their wireless communications and computer needs. He enjoyed finding creative solutions to existing IT issues. He always left a workplace better than he found it. He eventually retired from Riverside County Government Service. Jim was also very passionate about aviation and flying. He obtained his pilot's license in Arizona and later received his Instrument rating in California. Jim was able to purchase his own personal plane, a Mooney. Jim volunteered for the Civil Air patrol and often helped fly the U.S. and Mexican border. He helped get kids interested in flying through The Young Eagles Program and he would take kids on flights so they could get a certificate signed by Chuck Yeager. Jim loved taking his children Jody, Josh and Jamie up in the wide blue yonder and teaching them about flying. Jim loved all things mechanical, owning motorcycles, boats, planes and cars. He bought a red convertible Miata, joined the Miata Club, and would take his Miata to the race track on field days or on club drives with friends. A big supporter of Americans who serve our country, Jim served for four years as a volunteer police officer for the Boone County Sheriff’s office in Illinois. He had a strong sense of right and wrong, and admired and supported the efforts of law enforcement, military, firefighters and first responders. He knew they protected us and he wanted to do what he could to protect them. Maybe it was no surprise that Jim’s son James became a police officer. Jim was very proud of him, especially when he made Sergeant. For Jim, lines didn't blur, he was a champion of what was right. Jim was patriotic and always had a U.S. flag flying. Was Jim ever generous! Many times he would see police, firefighters or military members eating in a restaurant and would anonymously pay for their meals. Jim literally give the shirt off his back to a World War II veteran and drove home shirtless that day. Jim always put others first when it mattered. Jim always stood for what was right in both his private life and professional life without worrying about the cost to himself. Jim liked people, made friends easily, and knew how to strike up conversations and make people smile. He befriended individuals, groups, and organizations all over the world. He was good at imparting information. He was Soft hearted and was quick to tears and was not ashamed of it. He always wore his heart on his sleeve for all to see. This trait in Jim grew over time and was manifest when family was around, especially when kids came to visit he shared his feelings of love and gratitude openly. He was thankful for his family. One of the last things he said to Peggy was "We have been pretty fortunate”. His son James remembers that some of his best days were when Jim asked about his life and told him how proud he was of him. Jim was not was not particularly affiliated with any denomination, but he was a believer, he believed in God. Jim is best described as an unpretentious, supportive, sincere, and warm loving man. Jims legacy is the love, caring, and time he spent with each of us and the memories we will carry.

Tributes

James Douglas Sanders

April 11, 1963 - May 16, 2022