Irvin James "Jim" Flesher

September 02, 1920 - September 16, 2011

Irvin James "Jim" Flesher Obituary Irvin James ?Jim? Flesher died quietly of congestive heart failure at the Kootenai Medical Center in Coeur d?Alene on the morning of September 16, 2011. He was 91, born on September 2, 1920, to Irvin Brian and Mildred Amy Peterson Flesher in St. Paul, Minnesota. He is survived by his wife of 68 years, Alicemarian Clifford Flesher, four children: Paula and John Neils (Hauser), Barbara Camp (Libby, MT), Richard and Bobbie Flesher (Yaak, MT), and Julie and Dan English (Wenatchee, WA); 16 grandchildren, 29 great-grandchildren, and a sister, Dorothy Hinricks (Tacoma, WA). Jim and Alice met in high school in Harlem, Montana and were married on August 4, 1943, in Libby. Jim enlisted on December 17, 1941, and served in the US Air Force as a crew chief on a C-47 cargo plane stationed in Guam and North Africa. After the war, they settled in Libby, Montana, where he worked for many years for the J. Neils Lumber Company as a mechanic. In 1964 he fulfilled his dream to start his own business, Jim?s Lineup and Radiator Shop, which he operated for nearly 20 years. During his years in Libby, he belonged to the Knights of Columbus, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the American Legion. After his retirement in 1982, he and Alice traveled around the US in their motor home and spent several winters in Quartzite, AZ. For many years they were avid square and round dancers, played pinochle, and enjoyed their family. They moved to Hauser where Jim suffered a severe heart attack in 2003. Shortly thereafter they moved to Rathdrum and took care of each other in their own apartment. Jim was a kind-hearted, loving, gentle soul who most enjoyed light-hearted banter with friends and acquaintances. He will be sorely missed. His ashes will be interred in the Libby Cemetery near his parents and a grandmother. Family and friends gathered for a remembrance at the Neils? home on September 18, 2011.