Garoutte, James L.
Longtime Alaskan James L. Garoutte, 91, died Tuesday, August 23, 2011 at Providence Kodiak Island Hospital, with his wife Mary at his side.
Jim was born December 18, 1919 in Goodman, Missouri, lived in Arizona, then settled with his
mother and sister, Luana in Estacada, Oregon, where he grew up. In his later teen years he rode the rails to find work to help support his family during the great depression. He also worked the fields and orchards of Washington, Oregon and California, learned to play the guitar during this time, and also worked as a lumberjack in the Pacific Northwest.
In 1941 Jim moved to Kodiak, his home for 70 years. Beginning as a longshoreman and stevedore unloading supplies and materials used for the buildup of the Kodiak military bases, he started his own cab company and had several cabs working the Kodiak to Navy base area. He was drafted and was stationed in Alaska.
Jim met Mary Panamaroff , married her in September, 1944, and was married for 66 years. They had 4 children: Luana, George, Scott, and Amy.
After the War, Jim had his cabs but also commercially fished and worked construction. In 1952, Jim started with the Alaska Road Commission which became the Bureau of Public Roads, then the Alaska Department of Highways after statehood, retiring October 1976. During the late 40's, he liked racing boats and started building his own race boats and family runabouts. He owned several of his boats until late in his life. After retirement, Jim and Mary worked in their gardens, went fishing, and picked berries.
He served over 20 years on the board of directors of Kodiak Electric Association starting in 1951, helping with plans for a hydroelectric dam, and was glad to see the dam actually built. He was a member of the VFW and the Pioneers of Alaska.
Jim is survived by his wife Mary and their children: Luana (Derald) Schoon of Anchorage; Scott Garoutte of Honolulu, Hawaii; and Amy (Art) Garza of McAllen, Texas. He was preceded in death by his son George D. Garoutte.
A Memorial Service will be at the Kodiak Senior Center on Saturday, August 27, 2011 at 3 pm, with burial at Fort Richardson National Cemetery, Anchorage, Monday, August 29, 2011. Meet at the gate at 1 pm awaiting Military escort. Graveside services will be at 1:30 pm with Pastor Brandt Hoffman of Zion Lutheran Church officiating.
Arrangements by Alaskan Heritage Memorial Chapel of Anchorage.
Published in adn.com from August 26 to August 27, 2011