James Ray Ridenour

James (Jim) Ray Ridenour passed away on 6/23/17 at his home in College Place at the age of 84 after a courageous battle with dementia.

James Ray Powers was born on April 29, 1933, in Spokane, Washington, to Edith and Kenneth Powers, joining his older brother Richard Powers. The family lived in the Riparian area for a time period and later Jim's parents divorced. After the divorce, the boys were separated and Jim went to live with his mother part time and grandma Abey part time. Jim started working on farms at the age of 7, where he earned money to pay for school clothes, etc. He grew up in the Palouse area working on various farms where he gained lifelong relationships and friendships. Jim's mother later married Everett Ridenour and they had a daughter named Norma. Jim went to live with his mother when he started high school. He was later adopted by Everett and changed his name to James Ray Ridenour. The Ridenours lived in Clarkston, Washington, where Jim married Corrine Roe in 1951. He graduated from Charles Francis High School in 1952 and Jim was drafted into the Navy that year. He served 4 years as an electrician on the USS Curtis that was attached to the Atomic Energy Commission. He was discharged from the Navy in 1956 and went to work for a variety of employers--including McPhearson's, Armors and Safeway as a meat cutter, until he found himself in his chosen field "agronomy".

James and Corrine welcomed their son Roeman Drew to the world on August 5, 1961. Jim cherished raising his son and being an integral part of his life. Jim's family lived in the Dusty and Spokane areas, where he worked for various agricultural farming companies including Dusty Farm Co-Op (Chemical Plant Manager), Cenex (Agri-Products Representative), Palouse Producers (Retail Operations Manager) and Inland Farmers Co-Op (General Manager). James and Corrine later divorced.
James met Alisa Hill in Spokane and they married on July 14, 1985. He worked for Stoller Chemical (Branch Manager) until the company left the area in 1986. James obtained a Branch Manager position at Helena Chemical Company in 1986 in the Walla Walla area and the family relocated to the area. After Helena closed, Jim went to work as a Crop Protection & Plant Farm Sales Crop Monitor for Walla Walla Farmers Co-Op. Jim was a very talented field agronomist/consultant and was lured away from WW Co-Op to work for UAP in 1997. Later, Jim returned to Walla Walla Farmers Co-Op for the remainder of his career, which he retired from on January 1, 2003. Jim was a cowboy and an avid motorcyclist who enjoyed riding all over eastern Washington & Oregon. An animal lover, Jim also enjoyed the love of his furry children which included horses and dogs. Jim and Alisa loved to travel to California, Hawaii and the Oregon Coast. Later in life, they became avid fifth wheel campers and enjoyed most summer weekends at Fishhook and Charbonneau parks.

Jim is survived by his loving wife Alisa Ridenour of College Place, his son Roeman Ridenour, grandsons Jared (Biff) & Levi Ridenour, great-granddaughters Sophie and Malia Ridenour and great-grandson Emmitt Ridenour all of St Marie's, Idaho, nephew Robert Brown of Sacramento, California, and a host of other relatives and friends. Jim is preceded in death by his mother Edith Ridenour, stepfather Everett Ridenour and Grandma Abey.