James Robert Bergum, 76, of Kent, WA, passed away on November 9, 2019. He was born in Auburn, WA on November 26, 1942. He was raised in Seatac, WA and attended Mount Rainier High School. He was raised by his parents Robert and Irene Bergum and was the oldest of two children.
He married Linda Fay Edwards from Lewistown, Montana on February 17, 1963. They spent a year in South Dakota, then moved to Kent, WA in 1965, moved to Montana in 1974 and then back to Kent in 1976 where they remained. Together they raised four sons and one daughter. They celebrated their 56th wedding anniversary this past February.
Jim worked at Boeing for a few years then in 1971 started his carpet cleaning business, Bergum’s Professional Cleaning, which he operated in the area with his family for over 30 years. He then worked as a custodian with his son Rick in the Tahoma School district for 18 years until he retired in 2018.
Along with his wife and family, he served faithfully as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. He attended the Covington Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses for most of his life and was a friend to everyone and they loved him very much in return. He was usually the first one to greet new individuals that came to the Kingdom Hall. He treasured his family and friends and did whatever he could to assist and encourage them all. He cherished the Scriptural hope of living on a paradise earth (John 5:28,29) where death will be done away with and the dead will be restored to perfect life. (Isaiah 25:8, Acts 24:15, Jeremiah 29:11) He zealously shared this hope with everyone he could.
He loved being outdoors in God’s creation, going on camping trips all throughout his life, hiking, fishing with his kids, gardening, feeding his birds and squirrels in his yard and sharing his Bible based hope with others.
Jim was a loving husband, father, grandfather and friend to all. He was known by many as Mr. Smiley because he always tried to add cheer to someone else’s day with a smile.
Jim will be remembered for his way of making others laugh with practical jokes, his kind and generous heart and his ability to talk to just about anyone.
He was preceded in death by his parents and brother Larry Bergum. He is survived by the love of his life, Lynn Bergum; sons Rick, Ron, Randy & Robbie, daughter Becci, their spouses and his grandchildren Katie, Jordan, Devon, Killian, Oliver and Ruby.
A memorial for Jim will be held Sunday, December 8, 2019 at 1:00 pm at Tahoma High School
Performing Arts Center, 23499 SE Tahoma Way, Maple Valley, WA 98038.
