Jamie Alan Zimmerlee

Jamie Alan Zimmerlee, 33, passed away May 18 in Junction City, Oregon. A memorial service was held May 26 at his grandmother’s ranch on Rudio Mountain, between Kimberly and Dayville, Oregon.

He was born Sept. 15, 1984, in Hermiston, Oregon, to Heidi Reneé (Buce) and Richard Lee Zimmerlee. He grew up in Monument, Oregon, on his family’s ranch. He was homeschooled, then attended public school in Dayville and graduated from Union/Baker Education Services District, John Day, Oregon, in June 2003.

He married Jaime Arnett on July 4, 2008, at Lands Inn B&B on Rudio Mountain. They moved to Blaine, Washington. Together Jamie boy and Jaime girl had one son, Gavin Osric Zimmerlee, born March 3, 2010. He was a big man with a big smile and a big laugh.

He was an avid outdoorsman and enjoyed fixing engines and mechanical things. He worked at various jobs, including as a contract laborer with Ivanof Bay Village in Alaska, a fishing guide in Alaska, a caregiver for Alternative Service Inc. in John Day, and, most recently, driving log truck for J.C. Benson II Inc., Astoria, Oregon. The other side of this happy-go-lucky kid was a troubled young man who fought as long and hard as he could. He never recovered from his sister’s death in 2003, and eventually he took his own life.

He was preceded in death by his sister Shannon Lee (Zimmerlee) Halvorson; his maternal grandfather, Thomas Alan Buce; and his paternal grandparents, Jim and Vivian Zimmerlee.

He is survived by his mother, Heidi McCrary, and Troy Allen, Kimberly; his father, Richard Zimmerlee, and wife, Debbie, Bend, Oregon; son Gavin and ex-wife Jaime; grandmother Barbara (Weatherford) Buce, La Grande, Oregon; nephew Garrett Halvorson, Prineville, Oregon; and a loving, supportive extended family.