James M. “Jim’ McBride, 87, 18-year resident of Oak Harbor, died quietly at home with his family April 13, 2003, following a long battle with cancer and a brain tumor.

Jim was born Dec. 28, 1915, in Blue Mound, Ill., to John and Blanche Griffith, and was orphaned by the flu epidemic of 1918. He was adopted at age seven by Edgar and Edith McBride and lived in Los Angeles, Calif. Jim met and married Lois Boardman in 1944.

Jim spent two years in the U.S. Army during World War II and then joined the Beverly Hills Police Dept. after his honorable discharge. Jim and Lois had one daughter, Pamela, in 1947, and Jim entered the California Highway Patrol at that time. The couple traveled all over California, living in Long Beach, Los Angeles and Ukiah.

After losing his wife, Lois, he and his daughter Pam moved to Hawaii in 1966. In 1969, he met the lady who would become his second wife. Jim and Phronsie were married in 1970. After living 10 more years in Kailua Kona, Hawaii, they moved to Oak Harbor, where he was a machinist until his retirement.

Jim leaves his wife Phronsie at home; also, his daughter, Pamela Worthington, an Anglican priest, and husband Monte, of Langley, B.C.

A memorial service will be Thursday, April 17 at 1 p.m. at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, Rev. Pamela Worthington officiating. Memorials may be made to Skagit Hospice, 2000 Hospital Dr., Sedro-Woolley, WA 98284. Arrangements by Burley Funeral Chapel.