James "Jim" Holcomb

James Jim Morgan Holcomb passed away at 5:30 a.m. on October 7, 2017, in the arms of his beloved wife. He had been deteriorating for the past year with a diagnosis of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. He is now with his Lord and at peace.A memorial service will be Wednesday, October 11, 2017 at 11:00 a.m. at Christ United Methodist Church. Schnider Funeral Home is handling the arrangements.Jim was born September 21, 1945, and adopted by the family of Rev. Otha and Lydia Holcomb. His first home was Huntley, Minnesota. His early years with the pastoral family included moves to Merrils Grove and Hamburg, Iowa. While in Hamburg, a tonsillectomy, his first medical experience, was the foundation event for his professional life in the health services. Next was a move to Lusk, Wyoming, followed by another move to Kansas City, Kansas that returned the family to the midwest. He graduated from Wyandotte High School in 1963. A majority of his time in high school was devoted to participation in music performances and he played a trumpet in the orchestra, as well as sang with the acapella choir. During his junior year he was selected to play the leading male role for the performance of the musical South Pacific.His dad was called to become minister at the First Baptist Church in Great Falls, Montana, in the summer of 1963. He had planned to stay in the Kansas City area to continue his college education; however, he became homesick and moved to Great Falls after completing only one semester at John Brown University. He was accepted into the College of Great Falls, (now known as University of Providence) and graduated in 1967 with a degree in business administration. He worked two part-time jobs to gain business experience during college at The Paris and at Deaconess Hospital.It was time for a steady job, but Uncle Sam had other plans. He was drafted into the Army on April 1, 1968, and was provided with an all-expense paid trip to Fort Lewis, Washington. He was not pleased with the accommodations. Trying to predict the future just meant going to Vietnam so he and his girlfriend made plans for a wedding after he completed basic training. On June 29, 1968, he married Mathilda Tee Neuhart in Trenton, New Jersey. He suspected that he was headed to Vietnam after completing Armored Personnel Carrier training, but soon orders came assigning him to West Berlin, Germany. Someone was watching out for him!During his two year military assignment, he reflected upon his future employment options and was drawn to healthcare management. As his military time became shorter, he spent time exchanging correspondence with universities that offered Masters degrees in Health Care Administration. He was accepted into the program at the University of Iowa and graduated in June 1972.Jims first administrator position was at Harvard Community Hospital in Harvard, Illinois. This was a small rural community at the end of a commuter line into Chicago. His son, Brian, was born in Harvard in August 1973. His job was great, but it was not the location he wanted. He followed open positions in Montana until he found a company that had two management contracts in Montana. They were looking to expand. He hoped they could lead him to the perfect job and expected a better chance if he was working for them. He took the chance and ended up in Lovelock, Nevada. A year later, early 1976, he and his family were on their way to Shelby, Montana. Shelby operated from an aging building that had some undesirable life safety issues, a review of the property made the prospect for a new building a strong possibility. The County Commissioners proposed a 20 year bond which was approved by the county residents. While serving as Administrator, he was selected as a board member for the Montana Hospital Rate Review System. This board reviewed the charges and expenses being proposed for the coming fiscal year of each hospital in Montana.To keep current on healthcare trends, he applied to become a member of the American College of Hospital Administrators (ACHA). This is a professional organization which provides continuing education to hospital administrators and other health care managers. An opportunity came open with Deaconess in 1983 and he applied. He became one of the Vice Presidents. He was responsible for the non-clinical departments and any building projects. He was a member of the 1985 Leadership Great Falls and also completed the necessary steps to achieve fellow status within ACHA. Jim served for 2 years as the Montana regent. He also had the opportunity to be part of a People to People tour to China to learn about their healthcare system. The hospital CEO took another position, and for 4 months he served as the Interim CEO. With the arrival of a new CEO, there was a reorganization of the management team. He then became the Senior VP, but that was short-lived when there was a hospital-wide reorganization. He lost his position. He spent the summer doing interim work in Seward, Alaska, then the fall/winter at Kalispell and Dillon, Montana, and then taking over at Missouri River Manor. This was a turning point in his career. He found out he enjoyed working with the elderly.Jim and his wife, Tee later divorced. He later married Zita Takala on July 13, 1996, and moved to Sparks, Nevada. Clearly his life was a whirlwind ride! Life was good!He is survived by his wife, Zita; son and daughter-in-law Brian and Shilo Holcomb of Great Falls; grandsons Charlie and Morgan Holcomb of Great Falls; daughter Sara Takala; son Matthew Takala of Great Falls; granddaughter Alyvia Hampton and grandson Isaiah Takala of Great Falls; sister and brother-in-law Cheryl and Randy Williams of Troutville, Virginia. He also leaves behind his beloved Irish Setter, Pepsi, and Springer Spaniel, Monty.Jim was preceded in death by his parents.