Edwin Charles James
September 7, 1945 - February 1, 2026
Sincere condolences to JoAnn Knight James - BHS 65 who lost her husband of 57 years, Ed James - BHS 63, last Sunday, February 1st. Ed had been suffering from dementia the past few years., and on January 5th he fell and fractured his pelvis. He had surgery; but things just declined rapidly after that. Please keep JoAnn and her family in your thoughts and prayers.
Trudie Lombard Hentze
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OBITUARY
Edwin Charles James was born on September 7th, 1945, in Burbank, California just days after the end of World War II.
His parents, Elleen (Givan) and William James, owned and operated an apartment complex in Burbank, California where Ed was raised, and there Ed learned how to fix anything and everything while he helped his parents maintain their apartments, skills that he would use all his life.
He graduated from Burbank High School in 1963 followed by Glendale City College in 1965, obtaining an Associates of Science degree in mechanical drawing. He joined the US Air Force in March 1966 and completed basic training at Lackland Air Force Base as an Airman Second Class, followed by advanced training in Air Training Command in Denver. He was stationed at George Air Force base with the 329th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, in Southern California and eventually being promoted to Airman 2nd Class before being deployed to Phan Rang Air Force Base in South Vietnam during 1967 as part of the 435th Munitions Maintenance Squadron. While in Vietnam he was promoted to Sergeant, and in 1968 was transferred back to California to the Strategic Air Command training center as part to the 93rd Bombardment Wing at Castle Air Force Base, in Merced, California, where he was an instructor for replacement training units for the B-52 Stratofortress.
After leaving the Air Force, he returned to Burbank and worked 7 years for the City of Burbank water department as a draftsman, before moving his young family to the Northern California town of Auburn, to be near his in-laws. There Ed and family lived in Roseville while they built a house in Ophir, and he later participated in 4H at Ophir Elementary School as a leader for the shooting sports and woodworking programs. When younger son Dean was in the Del Oro High School Band, Ed volunteered his support.
In 2000, he donated his kidney to his oldest son Erik at the UC Davis Med Center, featured as a Father’s Day story on KCRA news, making Ed a brief celebrity around Auburn. During that time, he worked for 25 years for Nevada Irrigation District at the Placer County Yard in Gold Hill, as a maintenance worker and then foreman for the Placer maintenance crew, finally retiring in 2002.
After retirement of his wife Jo Ann in 2009, they moved to Grants Pass, Oregon, where they made many friends, and enjoyed the company of many visitors. Ed and Jo Ann were volunteers at the Josephine Community Library, with Ed employing his maintenance skills developed in his youth. They traveled widely, including trips to Australia, China, Europe, and the Mediterranean. Last year, they returned to Placer County, moving to Lincoln, to be closer to family.
He is survived by his wife, Jo Ann (Knight), son Erik James, daughter in-law Theresa, and granddaughter Bridget of Lincoln and grandson William of Berkeley, California; and his son Dean James, daughter-in-law Cyndi, and granddaughter Alicyn Shea of Rocklin; and his brother William James, sister-in-law Sharon, and niece Sherry Owens of La Crescenta, California.
