James Homer Milligan

James Homer Milligan passed away peacefully at his home in College Place, Washington, on Friday, April 12, 2024. Jim was born on June 10, 1938, in Boise, Ada County, Idaho, to parents Cleve Henry Milligan and Helen Josephine Quist Milligan. He spent his growing up years in North Logan, Utah, except for a couple of years in his early teens when his father’s employment with the Civil Engineering Department at Utah State University took the family to Teheran, Iran, as part of a cooperative agreement to help that country develop irrigation and water resources. As a young man, Jim served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Helsinki Finland Mission, then returned home to study Civil Engineering at Utah State University in Logan, Utah. While there, mutual friends set him up on a blind date on April Fool’s Day with Bonnie Winward, and thus started a romance that led to their marriage in the Logan Temple on March 02, 1962. They soon started a family with the arrival of their first son, Robert, followed by another son, Sean, and a daughter, Janice, all born in Logan, Utah. After completing both a bachelor’s degree and a PhD degree in Civil Engineering at Utah State, the young family moved north to Moscow, Idaho, where Jim was first employed at Washington State University in Pullman, Washington, as part of the Agricultural Engineering Department, working in their Ag Extension program. After a couple of years, Jim shifted a few miles to Moscow, Idaho, to join the Civil Engineering faculty at the University of Idaho. There, he enjoyed a long and fulfilling career (29 years) and retired in 2001. While in Moscow, Jim and Bonnie welcomed their last son, Jarrod, to the family. After over 40 years in Moscow, Jim and Bonnie moved to College Place, Washington, in 2014 to be closer to sons Sean and Jarrod and their families.

Although he grew up in North Logan, Utah, Jim spent quite a bit of time in his youth on his grandparents’ (later his uncle’s) ranch near Arco, Idaho, where he developed an abiding lifelong love for horses. One of his favorite activities was horse packing in the wilderness. In contrast to his professional careers in academia and engineering consulting, Jim maintained a side job as a farrier for many years. His sons have fond memories of many forays to help him shoe horses during the evenings and Saturdays, where they all started learning the craft at a young age.

Jim loved learning. He was widely read and had a gift for languages. Besides English, he learned French and Farsi as a youth in Iran, Finnish, and Swedish while on his mission to Finland, and he picked up smatterings of German and Spanish along the way. In later years, he decided to add Russian to his list. We all loved it when Dad read stories to us. Even as adults, a favorite activity at family gatherings was having Dad read stories by Patrick McManus or poems by Baxter Black to keep us all laughing. Other hobbies included woodworking, music, and cooking—especially over a campfire or in a Dutch oven. He loved teaching. He had a penchant for collecting pens and pocket knives.

In addition to his research and teaching at the University of Idaho, which included several years as Department Chairman and Acting Associate Dean of the College of Engineering, Jim was professionally active in other venues. He was a licensed Professional Engineer and an active member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and the Idaho Society of Professional Engineers (ISPE). He served for 13 years on the Idaho Board of Licensure of Professional Engineers and Professional Land Surveyors and gave decades of service with the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying. After “officially” retiring from the University of Idaho, Jim continued teaching at both the University of Idaho and Washington State University for several more years, along with private engineering consulting. As smart as he was, he didn’t seem to understand what the word “retired” meant. Jim was inducted into the University of Idaho Academy of Engineers in 2014. Engineering runs in the blood – all Jim’s sons are also Professional Engineers, and his daughter married one!

Jim’s life was defined by his love and faith in his Savior, Jesus Christ. He was an active lifelong member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He gave many years of service in a variety of callings. He had faith that the end of this mortal life would mark the beginning of the next stage of his eternal progression, where he would join his family who had gone before and would be joined by the rest of his family later.

Jim is survived by his wife, Bonnie, and all his children – Robert (Norma) of Lake Jackson, Texas; Sean (Tammy) of Dayton, Washington; Janice Carlsen (Wayne) of Riverton, Utah; and Jarrod (Beth) of Walla Walla, Washington. He is also survived by three sisters – Carol Ann Kerston (Clyde) of Mesa, Arizona; Shawnee Keith (Tom) of Logan, Utah; and Kathleen Anderson (Leonard) of Bremerton, Washington; and one brother – Erin Milligan (Eileen) of North Logan, Utah. He was preceded in death by his parents, Cleve and Helen Milligan, along with two brothers, John and Robert, and a sister, Janice. Jim had 16 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.

There will be a simple grave dedication ceremony at the Moscow Cemetery in Moscow, Idaho, on Friday, April 19, 2024, at 1:00 PM. There will be a Memorial Service on Saturday, April 20, 2024, at 1:00 PM at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints chapel at 1821 S 2nd Ave, Walla Walla, Washington.

Arrangements have been entrusted to the Herring Groseclose Funeral Home. Friends and family are invited to sign the online guestbook at www.herringgroseclose.com.