Lost Coast Outpost

OBITUARY: James Everett Tilley, 1973-2022

LoCO Staff / Monday, June 20, 2022 @ 7:19 a.m. / Obits

James Everett Tilley Junior has left this world to fly with the angels and swim with the mermaids. He was born in Heidelberg, Germany to Margaret and James Everett Tilley Senior. They moved to Bullhead City, Arizona, where he spent his childhood and teenage years. He was forever with his childhood friends Mark and brother Joshua Hull, who now lives in Mississippi. They created a lifetime of memories and James spent many a night outside on his phone reminiscing and carrying on ‘til wee hours as if they were right beside each other. James longed for the day his brother would come to Humboldt. James moved to Humboldt in 1994 to be closer to his mom, Mickey, and this is where he met his true love and later wife Tina Norton. It was love at first sight and they had three handsome boys, Seth Everett Norton, Evan James Tilley and Shane Joshua Tilley.

James loved the ocean and was a self-taught artist with many unique gifts. His dad gave him a camera and James had an instant talent for photography. He captured the Hale-Bopp comet — though it was never published it soared above many others that were. Next, he started building waterfalls out of anything he could find. He created beautiful works of art with whatever he found laying around. Instead of taking it to the dump he recycled it as the foundations to his beautiful waterfalls. Every piece he ever used he collected by hand. Day after day he would walk the beach and river in search of perfect pieces he would later use for his creations. I was always amazed when I saw a new enormous piece in the yard. His strength and determination was an inspiration. Just watching him get a piece of driftwood off the beach and get it home was an amazing accomplishment in itself. His creativity, ingenuity and the ability to engineer was unparalleled. No matter what, he wouldn’t give up or quit. Sometimes it would take days to finish and he had the strength of four men.

He started carving five years ago. His first creation was a beautiful mermaid, which was the first of many. James’s biggest and last creation was a horse he made out of pieces of driftwood for the Moose Lodge float in the Pony Express Day Parade. That was his proudest creation! James strived in everything he did and his talent was a gift from above. He loved and cherished his family and was so proud to be daddy to his three boys. His favorite role was being grandpa to Abel James Tilley, who lovingly referred to him as “Pop Up.” He was a member of the Moose Lodge and loved playing pool and singing karaoke at his local bars. He was truly an amazing unique soul who connected with many people on so many different levels and touched the lives of many. If you were lucky enough to come in to contact with him you would walk away with a little bit of his magic.

James was a true outlaw and lived every day like it was his last. Words cannot describe how special he is and how much he’ll be missed by all. Nobody will ever fill those big shoes.

He was preceded in death by his mother, Mickey, and sister, Tavia. He is survived by his father, James Everett Tilley Senior; his wife, Tina; her mother, Diane; Tina’s stepmom, Marcia; his sons Seth, Evan and Shane; his sisters Cathy, Brenda and Marianne; his brother Josh Kid and Glenn; his grandson, Abel; nieces Krisany, Chrissy, Brina, Lily and Sierra; and his nephews Micheal, Mason, Jace and Nathan. He held a special place in his heart for his mentor Warner as well as Bill Quinn. Also for Shirley Wells, who he was forever grateful for.

A celebration of his life will be on June 26, 1 p.m. at the Moose Lodge in McKinleyville. It will be a potluck, and everyone is welcome! James would joke to me that no one would come to his memorial — join me to prove him wrong. Funeral services will be handled by Humboldt Crematorium. We love and miss you, James!

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The obituary above was submitted by James Tilley’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.

OBITUARY: Edwin Seymour, 1933-2022

LoCO Staff / Monday, June 20, 2022 @ 7:06 a.m. / Obits

Edwin Seymour (Ed) was born to John Seymour and Aileen Moranda on September 17, 1933 in Requa and passed away on June 10, 2022 at 7:30 am with his family by his side.

Ed is proceeded in death by his wife, Laura Jane Seymour, his mother Aileen Moranda and his step son William Clay Danielson. He is survived by his children, Roberta Conway of Oregon, George Danielson of Orick, California, Rebecca Seymour-Marcks, son-in-law Jeramy Marcks, and Melissa Seymour as well as numerous people calling him dad or papa-san. He is also survived by numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and adopted grandchildren.

Ed had numerous passions. One was spending every night having family game night, giving William, one of his grandsons, a hard time over playing games, and spending time with his great-grandchildren — whether they were blood or not, they were all his great grandchildren. One of his main passions was his business on Facebook, Ed and Daughter Native Dreams, where his work went all over the world. He also enjoyed having his Facebook show with his daughter Becky and his adopted daughter Ada Crandall. One other proud accomplishment was when he taught his son-in-law how to make his dream catchers so he could continue his legacy.

He was proud of his heritage and proud to be a veteran where he fought to defend his country. He could have written a book about Humboldt County that some people may not have known. Special thanks to Grace and Allegra for taking such good care of him.

Ed’s memorial will be held at Gobles Mortuary on June 26 at 1 p.m. with a celebration of life following at Newburg Park. Please bring your own drinks, chairs, and favorite dish everyone that knew him is welcome. No drugs or alcohol allowed.

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The obituary above was submitted by Ed Seymour’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.

(VIDEO) HUMBOLDT OUTDOORS: Retracing Jack London’s 1911 Journey Through Humboldt County

John Ross Ferrara / Sunday, June 19, 2022 @ 12:45 p.m. / Humboldt Outdoors

Humboldt history hound Ray Olson traces the trail of celebrated American novelist Jack London in his latest episode of Humboldt Outdoors.

Well-documented history shows that London and his family spent three months exploring the North Coast in 1911 for his magazine article titled “Navigating Four Horses North of the Bay.”

London, a famous literary figure at the time for his recent publications of “Call of the Wild” and “White Fang,” attracted a lot of attention during his visit. According to legend, he even got into an epic hour-long brawl with 19-year-old A. Stanwood Murphy, the future owner of the Pacific Lumber Company, at one of Eureka’s many saloons.

A reading of White Fang.

As he tracks down the local locations London visited, Olson also meets up with some local historians to learn more about the author’s historic adventure.

“I grew up enthralled reading Jack London’s adventure tales as a young boy,” Olson told the Outpost. “What a story, and how fun to learn all the details from such prominent local historians.”

Watch Olson’s full episode in the video above. The following paragraph about Humboldt County is a segment from London’s 1911 magazine article for Sunset Magazine:

These comfortably large counties! They are veritable empires. Take Humboldt, for instance. It is three times as large as Rhode Island, one and a half times as large as Delaware, almost as large as Connecticut, and half as large as Massachusetts. The pioneer has done his work in this north of the bay region, the foundations are laid, and all is ready for the inevitable inrush of population and adequate development of resources which so far have been no more than skimmed, and casually and carelessly skimmed at that. This region of the six counties alone will some day support a population of millions. In the meanwhile, O you home-seekers, you wealth-seekers, and, above all, you climate-seekers, now is the time to get in on the ground floor.

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PREVIOUSLY:

HUMBOLDT HOLDING UP: Redwood News Anchor John Kennedy O’Connor on His First Impressions of Humboldt and His Love/Hate Relationship With the Eurovision Song Contest

LoCO Staff / Sunday, June 19, 2022 @ 10 a.m. / Humboldt Holding Up

John Kennedy O’Connor has some news for you

(AUDIO) John Kennedy O’Connor is Holding Up

Update your brains, TV news fans. A new butt has arrived to occupy the anchor’s chair in the Redwood News studio on Humboldt Hill.

On today’s edition of Humboldt Holding Up, we speak with John Kennedy O’Connor, a London-born veteran broadcaster who now lends his gravitas to Humboldt’s longest-running television news operation. Perhaps you caught his pre-election interview with now-outgoing Auditor-Controller Karen Paz Dominguez. If not, sample his steady-handed interview approach below.

Pretty good, no? Click the audio player above or click on over to Apple Podcasts to hear O’Connor speak with the Outpost’s Andrew Goff and Stephanie McGeary about his decision to take the opportunity to become a Humboldt newsman. But also be prepared for LoCO to pursue its curiosity about the Eurovision Song Contest, the high-stakes European songwriting competition that O’Connor has served as a presenter for and has also written books about. You have been warned!

And as always, if you need even more Humboldt voices in your ears, be sure to scroll through our list of past HHU guests below.

PREVIOUS HUMBOLDT HOLDING UP GUESTS:

GROWING OLD UNGRACEFULLY: Of Boats and Ships

Barry Evans / Sunday, June 19, 2022 @ 7 a.m. / Growing Old Ungracefully

As of March 4, Russians were forbidden to refer to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in any other terms than “special operation.” Americans aren’t immune from such euphemisms: the Korean War, was (and, officially, still is) Harry Truman’s “police action.” In contentious times, definitions can literally define your whole outlook: red or blue, liberal or conservative, pro-life or pro-choice. For instance:

When is a fetus a person?
When is a semiautomatic rifle (like the AK-15 style used at Uvalde and Sandy Hook) an assault weapon?
When is a terrorist a freedom fighter?
When is a stock market correction a crash?

Taking a break from the heavy, and tragic, events of the last few weeks and months, I’ve been reading up on a lighter, but no less contentious topic:

When is a boat a ship?

Turns out, there’s a whole literature on this, that has, on occasion, taken polemics to alpine heights of controversy. Informal answers first:

You can put a boat on a ship, but you can’t put a ship on a boat. (But ferryboats are always equipped with lifeboats—shouldn’t they then be ferryships?) (And the United States Ship Colewas carried on the Blue Marlin from Yemen to Mississippi.)
A submarine is always a boat. According to the U.S. Navy Style Guide, “boat - use to describe a submarine. Do not use to describe a ship.” Same with Royal Navy subs: always boats. Not forgetting the classic old movie Das Boot, “The Boat,” about a German U-boat during WW2.
A captain of a boat won’t mind you calling his/her vessel a ship, but don’t never ever refer to the craft commanded by a ship’s captain as a boat.
A ship has more than one deck; a boat only one.
A sailing ship has three or more masts…otherwise it’s a boat.
A ship is an ocean-going vessel. (But what about dories that brave souls have rowed across the Atlantic?)
A boat works a waterway; a ship plies a waterway.

Getting more technical:

A skiff (small boat) is etymologically the same as a ship.
A ship weighs more than 150 gross tons (or 500, in another definition, or 100 feet long, in yet another). Anything else is a boat.
The captain of a boat needs no formal qualification. A ship’s captain is not only qualified to be in charge of the vessel, but is also empowered to perform weddings, burials-at-sea and is authorized to imprison.

Here’s the real McCoy (per the Royal Navy): A ship rolls outboard in a turn while a boat rolls inboard. Same as a car (which leans outward in a turn) versus a motorbike (inward). It’s all to do with whether the center of gravity is above or below the center of buoyancy.

Finally, in all cases, a watercraft is feminine, a she. I claim this isn’t sexist, it’s more a term of endearment with a long and rich history. My wife begs to differ.

Forget Lloyds of London, which recently switched from feminine to neuter. Forget Wikipedia* and all the so-called authoritative dictionaries and style guides. Take it from me, whose next sloop will be named “Never Again” after his beloved’s sentiment. From my 25 lb. skin kayak to the Seven Seas Mariner that graced the Schneider dock last month, they’re female as all get-up.

“Nice little boat you’ve got there, Captain!” (48,000 ton Seven Seas Mariner) Photo: Barry Evans.

*To be fair to Wikipedia: “Ship” (along with “nation”) is an English word that has retained a female grammatical gender in some usages, which allows it sometimes to be referred to as a “she” without being of female natural gender.

THE ECONEWS REPORT: California’s Climate Plan Misses the Mark?

The EcoNews Report / Saturday, June 18, 2022 @ 10 a.m. / Environment

Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

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On this week’s EcoNews Report, Gang Green talks with Professor Dan Kammen of UC Berkeley and Gary Hughes of Biofuelwatch to investigate how the state of California intends to meet its climate targets and whether its plan is sufficient. (Spoiler alert: it’s not).

The California Air Resources Board has released its draft scoping plan, a document intended to guide the state’s climate actions moving forward. The plan has been poorly received by environmental groups. Find out more on this week’s episode.

AUDIO:

“The EcoNews Report,” June 18, 2022.

REQUIRED READING:

OBITUARY: Ronald Dean Powell Sr., 1959-2022

LoCO Staff / Saturday, June 18, 2022 @ 6:56 a.m. / Obits

Ronald Dean Powell Sr.
November 16, 1959 — June 10, 2022

Ronald Dean Powell Sr. was born in Garberville to Ronald Gene Powell (deceased) and Julia (Bussell) Farnum. Dean lived most of his life on the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation but was born in Southern Humboldt due to his father’s employment as a sawyer.

Dean was a proud Hoopa Tribal Member, and he was very involved in his culture. Dean loved to dance and participate in his traditional native ceremonies. During his childhood, he was very close with his maternal grandparents, Vernon N. Bussell Sr. and Irene (Davis) Bussell. During his years at Hoopa High School, he participated in JV and Varsity Football, wrestling, and Future Farmers of America (FFA).

After High School, Dean worked in the woods. He was employed with Wold Logging and at Hoopa Forest Industries (HFI). He began as a hook tender and rigging slinger and later a heavy equipment operator. Dean also was awarded a certificate in carpentry from Lassen Community College.

Dean found joy in outdoor activities, such as hunting, fishing, eeling, hiking, mushrooming, and making paths, especially down to Campbell Creek so his kids, nephews, nieces, and grandkids could enjoy his swimming hole. He also was a very talented carver and enjoyed gifting his work to special people in his life. Dean was also a great horseman; he took pride in breaking the most difficult horses.

Dean was a family man, he was a devoted son, grandson, brother, father, nephew, uncle, cousin and friend; family meant the world to him. At age 18, he fathered his first child, Rachel Deeann Powell. He went on to have seven more children.

Ronald was preceded in death by his beloved son, Ronald “Ronnie” Dean Powell Jr., his father Ronald Gene Powell and step-mother, Margaret Powell, maternal grandparents Vernon N. and Irene (Davis) Bussell Sr., paternal grandparents Everett W. and Inez (Underwood) Powell, maternal uncles: Lowell, Vernon “Tootie”, and Virgil “Beebo” Bussell, and Allen “Cash” Davis; paternal uncles: Vernon, Dean, Duane, Ivan, Keith, and Donald Powell; paternal aunts: Delores (Powell) Dunn, Edith (Powell) Whisnant, and Maxine (Powell) Armstrong; cousins: Sharon and Sandra Powell, Cheryl Bussell, Virgil “Uppity” Bussell Jr., Vernon “Tooters” Bussell III, Branigan Davis; good friends: “Toss” White, “Chuffy” Sylvia, Thomas Blake, “Doomey” Beck, Billy Pearson, and Lori Gray.

Dean is survived by his mother, Julia (Bussell) Farnum; children: Rachel, Jill, Anna Rose, Donald, K’ida:y, K’itsa:y, and Irene Powell; grandchildren: Nah-tes, Alexia “Taryete” “Lexi” and David Jackson, Janae Dunn, Vernon and Joseph Reeves-Powell, and Troy Powell ; siblings: Ronalda Jordan (Danny), Marilyn Powell, Julie Ann Farnum (Terrance McCovey), Lyle Matilton and step-sister Tracey Ramone (Jody); nephews and nieces: Carmeli (Jordan) Begay (Nolan), Leland Jordan, Eric Phines (Ariel Richards), Melissa Phines (Arlen Doolittle Jr.), John Acuna, Natalie (Van Pelt) Scott (Brandon), Brammel, Mckenzie (Monte “Boogs” Jarnaghan Jr.), Stanley “Boy Boy” (Weeya Ferris), and Joseph “Hurkie” McCovey, Jenna Miller, Ty and Clay Ramone; close friends: Ty & Raul Duncan, Carl “C-Mooch” Colegrove Sr., Ronnie “Rubs” Robbins, Curt & Gary Dempewolf and Ted Pearson; Dean is also survived by several cousins, great nieces and nephews, and other friends too many to name.

A wake will be held at Dean’s residence on Telescope Road on Saturday evening, June 18, 2022. Funeral services, officiated by Rodney Vigil Sr., will be held on June 19, 2022, at the Neighborhood Facilities (NF) beginning at 10:00 A.M. His burial will be at the Davis Ranch immediately following his services. A reception will be held at the Hoopa Wildland Firehall after the burial.

Pall Bearers: Donald Powell, K’itsa:y Powell, Nah-Tes Jr. & David Jackson, Ronnie “Rubs” Robbins, Joseph James, Lyle Matilton,

Honorary Pall Bearers: Herman “Shack” Sherman Jr., Sylvester, Doug and Freddie Brown, Walter “Bud” Gray Jr., Carl “C-Mooch” Colegrove, Ty & Raul Duncan, Romane “Shade” Calvin, Loren “Long Gone” McCovey, Alfonso Colegrove, Curt & Gary Dempewolf, Terrance McCovey, Alfred “Alfie” Bussell, Eddie Leach, Kenny Bain, Carlos Miguelena, Tim Bussell, Sr., Arnold Davis Jr., Danny Bushnell, Bob “Soonie” Campbell Sr., Ted Pearson, Denny Colegrove, Kevin Wilder, Warren Leiner, Filmore Harvey, Mike Lee Sr., Leland Jordan, Eric Phines, Brammel McCovey, John Acuna, Stanley “Boy Boy” McCovey, Joseph “Hurkie” McCovey, Willie, Alec, Marty and Andrew Lamebear, Dewey, Sonny, and Jimmy Jones, J.R. Bowen, Jesse James, Clay and Ty Ramone, Mark Scott, Brandon Scott, Arlen Doolittle Jr., Lyle Baldy Jr., Sebastion Ferris, Cheygee Sylvia, Caw-tep Sylvia, Turk Sylvia, Jake Blake, Barry “Beez” McCovey Jr., Boyd Ferris, Logan Ferris, Lance Marshall, Robert “Cash” McCovey, Robert “Bob” Davis, Rocky Colegrove, Billy Colegrove, Brandon Colegrove, Anthony Colegrove, Lonnie “Looney Toons” Colegrove, Lyle Matilton, John “John John” Robbins, Rodney “Rowds” Robbins, Shane, Eric “Herc”, Nick and George III.Nixon, Charlie McCovey, Geno Masten, Sinjin Surber, Glenn Jones, Phillip Pike, Talbert Albert Alvarado, Axel Erickson, Erick Amos, Keg Super, Tim Bussell Jr., Gordon Bussell, George Lewis, David Gray, KG Bain. Dean had so much family and friends, so please accept our apologies if we forgot anyone.

The family would also like to thank everyone for their prayers, consoling words, hugs, food, and hard work.

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The obituary above was submitted by Dean Powell’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.

OBITUARY: James Everett Tilley, 1973-2022

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