JAMES "JIM" RICHARD NEINSTADT
May 1, 1958 ˜ November 29, 2021

James "Jim" Richard Neinstadt, 63, of Ridgefield, WA, passed away peacefully surrounded by his family and loved ones Monday, Nov. 29, 2021. Jim was born May 1, 1958, in Minneapolis, MN, to Vern and Janice (Houghton) Neinstadt.

He is survived by his beloved wife of 34 years, Maxine; daughter, Samantha of Orange County, CA; son, Jeff of Ridgefield, WA. From his first marriage to Suzanne Stratton, daughters, Stephanie of Vancouver, WA; Leslie (Vinny) of Orange County, CA; grandsons, Luke and Austin. He is also survived by his sister, Lisa (Brian); brother, Mark (Linda), and nieces, nephews and other beloved relatives and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents, Lavern Neinstadt and Janice (Houghton) Neinstadt.

Jim grew up in a military family and lived in several states in the U.S. such as Minnesota, Florida and California, until his family moved to Washington state in 1965. From an early age, he loved to boat and fish with family and friends at the family cabins on Lake Pokegama, in Pine City, MN. His favorite water sports included waterskiing, swimming, sailing and fishing. Jim graduated from Columbia River High School in 1977. In 1986, he met Maxine (Schroeder) Neinstadt on a blind date and they wed in January 1988. Jim spent a lot of time fishing local rivers and the ocean with friends. In June 2015, Jim landed a 200 pound Halibut, which fisherman refer to as a "barn door" on the Cook Inlet, AK. It took over 45 minutes to reel in the huge Halibut and two other men to help Jim lift it on board the charter boat. Jim had his private pilot's license and enjoyed the adventure of flying to the coast for long weekends and taking family and friends for plane rides over the skies of Clark County.

Jim retired from a 40 year career at Safeway working various positions such as Store Manager and meat cutter. He started his own business, Cutting Edge Excavating in Ridgefield, WA, in 2001 and grew his business for 20 years. Jim concurrently worked at Safeway and his ground level construction business for 15 years. Jim finally retired in 2020. He enjoyed golfing, snow skiing, racing his motorcycles and driving his sports car. Jim's "need for speed" was evident! He took numerous road trips with Maxine to the beach, California to see their family and Montana to look at retirement properties. He also enjoyed Pheasant hunting with his son, brother-in-law and nephews.

Jim was an outstanding role model as a son, brother, uncle, husband, father, grandfather and friend. He could build anything out of wood and assisted with the construction of two of his homes. Jim has a strong legacy of honor, respect, kindness, love, patriotism and hard work. He held the highest integrity in business and in family life. Jim will be forever remembered for his big smile, contagious laugh, gentle eyes, caring heart and unconditional love. Although our hearts are heavy, we will celebrate his life and find comfort that he is in heaven watching over us. He is sadly missed by his family, relatives, friends and all who knew and loved him.

Jim's Celebration of Life will be held Friday, Jan. 28, at 1:00 p.m. at Glenwood Community Church, 12201 NE 72nd Avenue, Vancouver, WA 98686.