Jim Sibert
Jim Sibert was a loving father, husband, grandfather and friend. Loyal, hard-working and a man of logic, there wasn’t anything Jim couldn’t fix nor any project he couldn’t figure out how to do.
Growing up in Corning, Jim went to work at the truck stop on I-5 while he was still in high school. That’s where he first learned to cook, something he kept getting better at his entire life. Later, Jim married and had three amazing daughters who were the light of his life – Jessie, Holly and Lucy.
To support his young family, Jim worked on oil rigs, until he was injured on the job – falling 23 feet and breaking his back. When Jim was told that he needed to have rehabilitation before returning to work, he said “I don’t need to be rehabilitated, I’m a mechanic.” After all, he had built his first hot rod when he was just 13 years old.
Jim returned to northern California and took a job a as mechanic at the Ford dealership in Corning. Eventually, Roy Deal at Deal and Davie had the opportunity to meet Jim and hired him on the spot. Roy’s only stipulation was that Jim had to cut his hair.
In July 1990, Jim packed up his family and moved to Susanville. After he and his wife divorced, Jim raised his daughters as a single father. While Jim loved “the girls” more than anything, he was strict, wanting only the best for his daughters.
Little did Jim know that Deal and Davie would lead him to the love of his life, Kim Stampfli. Both say that the day Kim walked in to get her car serviced, it was love at first sight. Jim took a call from Kim the next day, when she thought she had left her brief case in the repair shop. He told her thought he heard a funny clinking sound in her car when she left. He really wanted Kim’s number so he could ask her lunch.
Their first date was lunch at the Grand Café, where Jim and Kim would meet for lunch every Friday during their courtship.
For their second date, Jim asked Kim if she wanted to go fishing or go cut wood. Kim thought fishing sounded more fun, but Jim said that Kim needed the wood. Not only did Jim cut wood for Kim that day, he kept them stockpiled with wood every year. While Jim was an excellent mechanic, he learned to do woodworking as well, building Kim’s garage, fence gates and installing a custom wood floor. Jim could figure out how to anything and do it well.
Jim’s daughters meant the world to him and he was extremely proud of Jessie, Holly and Lucy. He used to say that since Lucy was the youngest, she wasn’t in charge of anything. But in reality, Jim said, Lucy is in charge of everything.
Kim’s children, Sarah and Phillip, grew to love and respect Jim, understanding how much he loved their mom and made her happy.
Jim was an avid outdoorsman who loved to hunt, fish, camp and find morel mushrooms in the woods. But his favorite pastime was supporting the San Francisco 49ers. He never missed watching a game and acted as owner, coach and sometimes, referee.
Jim and Kim loved to spend time together cooking, eating, drinking their evening cocktail and exploring the woods. Jim Sibert will be sorely missed by those who knew and loved him, including his work family at Northeastern Rural Health Center. He was someone who loved deeply, thought logically and cared fiercely about those who were part of his life.
Jim leaves behind his beloved wife, Kim, and daughters Jessie Null, Holly Pasero, and Lucy Niemeyer. He will be missed by his step-children Sarah Zamora and Phillip Bush. Jim and Kim shared 13 grandchildren who also will miss their Grandpa Jim.
Memorial for Jim Sibert will be held at Walton’s Colonial Mortuary Saturday June 13th 2020 at 1:00pm.
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