COEUR d'ALENE - Community activist, volunteer and longtime Coeur d'Alene fixture Jim Elder died Monday after a four-year battle with lung cancer.

Elder died peacefully at his Fernan Lake Village home with family by his side, his family told The Press on Monday.

Elder was 68.

His passing touches nearly every corner of the community.

He was born in Duluth, Minn., but raised in Coeur d'Alene. He returned to the Lake City in 2000 after retiring from the former Potlach Corp. Almost immediately upon his return, he began volunteering for civic boards and spearheading community projects.

His contributions include helping facilitate the construction of the Kroc Community Center as well as raising around $3 million to build the Coeur d'Alene Public Library.

"I'm not too sure we could have done it without Jim," said Deanna Goodlander, city council member, on the library project happening without Elder's fundraising support. Elder is one of the names that graces the Heritage Wall in the library's Community Room. "The thing I loved about Jim is he was so enthusiastic about Coeur d'Alene. He just continually gave up his energies to make this a better place ... His fingerprints are all over town."

It's an assessment Coeur d'Alene Library Foundation director Ruth Pratt agreed with, calling Elder's service to the community his "lifeblood."

But Elder's reach extended beyond Coeur d'Alene city limits.

In 2009, Elder, Pat Acuff and Doug Potter donated 50 acres on the south side of Fernan Lake to the city of Coeur d'Alene and East Side Highway District to ensure the forested hill remain in its natural state for the public.

Acuff, Elder's next door neighbor in Fernan, said that was typical of Elder, who was always thinking of what would benefit the greater good, never on individual gain.

"He was a friend of mine, a neighbor of mine, and a partner of mine. He's going to be missed," said Acuff, who knew Elder since the two were in school. "He's just been a wonderful friend, and wonderful person to the community."

As involved as Elder was, the former mayor of Fernan, which sits east of Coeur d'Alene, didn't seek notoriety, those close to him said.

He was the owner of Cricket's Downtown Bar and Grill before he sold it in 2011, and nearly every morning he could be seen cleaning or organizing the Sherman Avenue restaurant. Goodlander looked at him as a "Godfather," because people made it a habit to sit and visit with the longtime community supporter over morning coffee.

His coffee gatherings, which started at Starbucks before switching to Java, were as well known as his community involvement. Discussions ranged from sports to families to the goings-on about town.

"If there's a Jim story, it's the fact that people came to coffee to sit and visit with Jim and find out what was going on," she said. "And in my case, to get his advice."

Acuff recalled the time Elder rescued Acuff's family dog after the dog broke through ice on Fernan Lake, about 100 yards from shore. Elder saved the dog by breaking through the ice on his kayak, which left his fingers numb for days.

"He was that kind of guy," Acuff said. "He grabbed the kayak from behind the garage and took off after her."

Elder also served on the Inland Northwest Community Foundation, Lake City Development Corp., and on Court Appointed Special Advocates, a nonprofit that dedicates itself to ensuring children removed from their homes are placed in safe quarters.

"What some people might not know about him was the passion and the compassion he had for his family and his friends," said Mayor Sandi Bloem, who knew Elder all his life as the two grew up as family friends. "He took the most incredible care of his mom. That was the real Jim. The person who made you feel when you were in his presence that you were the most important person in the world."

A non-smoker, Elder was diagnosed with lung cancer around 2009 - news the active jogger told The Press at the time had come like "a punch to the stomach." At the time, he was expected to live only six more months or so.

But those who interacted with Elder said he never let the disease affect his outlook on life, or how he devoted his time to the town he cherished.

"That attitude - we all look to that with great respect," said Charlie Nipp, a friend of Elder's since the early 1960s. Nipp served as LCDC chairman when Elder joined the board in April 2002.

"He received the diagnosis and he said, 'That's just unacceptable. I need to keep moving, keep being who I am,'" Nipp said. "And he did it. He did it to the very end."

Elder, married to Helen for nearly five decades, was still serving as vice chair on LCDC, the city's urban renewal agency, at the time of his passing.

"I truly enjoyed working with Jim. He was a great community leader," said Tony Berns, LCDC director, adding that he spoke to Elder last week about the McEuen Field project, a project currently underway that Elder cared about deeply and was involved in from the beginning. "He left (Coeur d'Alene) a much better place after he came back."

Richard Jurvelin, mayor of Fernan, said Elder's guidance helped Jurvelin ease into his new position as mayor after Elder decided not to seek re-election, supporting Jurvelin for the post instead.

"You need to look at it this from this angle," Jurvelin remembered Elder telling him "nicely and politely" several times as Jurvelin sought his advice on civic duties.

"He was always very positive, very proactive, always forward thinking," he said. "He wasn't a meddler, he just wanted to be sure the city was running in the right direction."

In 2009, shortly after the diagnosis and his land gift to Coeur d'Alene, Elder was recognized as 'Rotarian of the Year' by the Rotary Club.

It was the second time Elder received the award from the group of business and professional leaders who provide humanitarian services around the world.

"I don't think there's any association that I have that means more to me than Rotary," Elder said in the June 20, 2009, Press article about the recognition. "The amount of help the club gives - not only locally, but to people around the world - is outstanding."

Elder also served on Concerned Businesses of North Idaho.

"We've all lost just a wonderful friend - that's probably what we're all feeling," Nipp said. "He just had an incredible capacity to give his personal time to all of us, to our community, and that will be unmatched."

A private family graveside memorial will be held at a later date in Forest Cemetery with Yates Funeral Home, Coeur d'Alene in care of the arrangements. A memorial can be found at www.yatesfuneralhomes.com.