Obituary of James Allan Smith

JAMES ALLAN SMITH December 8, 1948 ~ December 8, 2014 James Allan Smith passed away at home on 12/8/14, his 66th birthday. He was born 12/8/48 in Portland, OR, the only child of Robert Smith and Dorothy Lamper Smith. He graduated from Cleveland HS and attended OSU then joined the Air Force Reserve. He had various jobs before becoming the manager of Hawthorne Stereo in Portland. He and Jennifer McDonald were married in 1983 and moved to Vancouver in 1986. They had 3 children- Ian, Julia, and Colin. He stayed at home with the children as chief cook and gardener, and also started his own company, Quickline Audio, where he designed and built high-end stereo equipment. He coached his children in soccer, then became a well- respected referee, including being selected for the referee team at state high school championships. Finally he became a teacher of new referees. He was an avid fan of Manchester United, the Portland Timbers, and the Portland Thorns soccer teams. Later in life he developed his artistic talent in photography, traveling around the Northwest on picture-taking tours. He enjoyed genealogy, tracing his family back to the Mayflower, Speedwell and Fortune ships, and finding that his great-great-grandfather, Robert Cushman, preached the first recorded sermon in America. He served his neighborhood association as treasurer for many years. He was preceded in death by his father and his step-father, Howard Potts. He is survived by his mother, Dorothy Potts and his wife and children. A memorial luncheon is planned for Saturday, January 31. Please e-mail jenmcd51@gmail.com to RSVP and for details.In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the James Smith Scholarship Fund for supporting young soccer referees to any Umpqua Bank branch.Please sign James's Guest Book at www.columbian.com/obits.