Jim was born March 11, 1939 in Greely, Colorado and passed away on Feb. 23, 2017 in Nampa, Idaho. Jim was an inspiration to everyone who knew him; he filled the room with laughter everywhere he went with his smile, and had a great sense of humor and outgoing personality. Jim was baptized and confirmed a Lutheran in his youth. He was preceded in death by his mother, Margaret Thiel, and father, Carl Thiel. He is survived by his wife Karen (Ballard) Thiel of Boise; twin sister Jeannette (Sears) Martin and oldest sister Margaret Braun both of Colorado; son Michael; daughter Kim; and 4 grandchildren: Amanda, Michael, Shanarrah, Trenton; 2 great-grandchildren, Anowen and Trinity; 2 stepchildren Troy Ballard and Donia Ballard; and several nieces and nephews living in Colorado. Jim joined the United States Air National Guard and received Honorable Discharge November 1957. He joined the United States Armed Forces and received Honorable Discharge in 1962 from the United States Air Force. Jim graduated from Ontario High School in 1957 and attended Treasure Valley Community College in 1965 earning an AA Degree in Engineering. July of 1967 Jim worked for Engineering Inc. as Senior Draftsman/Designer providing estimating and procurement for numerous industrial projects. In 1972 he started working for Morrison Knudsen Co. Inc. in Boise as Mechanical Designer/Draftsman for 18 years. From 1976-79 he worked as Field Engineer in Nevada for Geothermal Food Processors updating and retrofitting mechanical and electrical systems on the World's First Geothermal Dehydrator reporting to the U.S. Dept. of Energy. In 1981 he met Karen Ballard, administrative assistant on his task force at M-K and they married in June of 1982. In the summer of 1986 Jim and Karen went to Honolulu, Hawaii. When they returned, Jim was laid off from M-K Co. Inc. in December of that year and he started working at various jobs in Boise including Conveyor Engineering, Engineering Consultants Inc. and Hewlett Packard. In 1990 he was called to work for Hanford Nuclear Site in Richland, WA as Principal Designer for HVAC design; Lead Designer for Analytical Lab, Hot Cell Lab, Tank Farm Ventilation; Conceptual Design Waste Recovery and Processing Plant. He coordinated Mechanical system with Electrical. After 5 years, many of the engineers that were called to Hanford, were laid off. After returning to Boise, Jim accepted work for Parsons Brinckerhoff Co. Inc. as Asst. Project Manager for the US Postal Service Processing and Distribution Center and 2 years later worked as Assistant Inspector in concrete testing on the "Flying Wye" interstate interchange in Boise; it was during this time in 2001 that he became disabled with a long battle of hydrocephalus. Jim had a passion for antique cars restoring them and won several trophies and awards with his 1951 Ford Tudor Sedan. He shared many years of enjoyment with Karen showing their white 65 T-Bird and black 76 Mercury at Antique Car Shows and Rod Runs and winning trophies. A big highlight was the 1890 - 1990 Idaho Centennial Tour of Antique & Classic Cars to Missoula, Montana with the Early Ford V-8 Club and Vintage Gems. The family wishes to express their sincere appreciation to all the wonderful, loving, compassionate staff at Heron Place Assisted Living and of Heart 'N Home Hospice that cared for Jim for so long. A Memorial service will be held on Tuesday, February 28, 2017 at 2 pm at the Community of Christ Church, 408 N Garden Boise, ID.
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