James Harold Paulsen, 71, passed away peacefully on Friday, January 31, 2014, at Kootenai Health in Coeur d’Alene.

Jim was born on September 21, 1942, in Granite Falls, MN, to Clara and Harold Paulsen. He had fond memories of Slippery Rock, PA, where he spent much of his childhood. Jim had a close, loving family and shared many stories of duck hunting trips and holidays spent with them. He was especially close to his grandfather during those years.

Jim received his BA from Cornell University, where he studied economics in beautiful Ithaca, N.Y. He received his law degree from the University of Minnesota in 1968. Jim was an exceptionally hard worker, and before passing the Bar in Minnesota, California and Idaho, he had many varied jobs. Of those jobs, he often regaled others with his time as a customs officer, seizing illegal whiskey and ceremoniously pouring it out. It was there in Minnesota he was able to fish daily on Crane Lake.

Jim then moved to California where he was a public defender. A few years later he packed up his camper, grabbed his dog Cinnamon, and drove north to Idaho in search of better fishing. He knew he had reached his destination when he drove across the Long Bridge over Lake Pend Oreille; he settled in Sandpoint and began his law practice there in 1973. On May 21, 1983, Jim married his wife, Christi. They spent their lives on land he purchased near Garfield Bay, and in 1989 they were blessed with their son, Gunnar, who was the joy of Jim’s life.

Jim’s passions included coaching his young son’s soccer games, and later traveling with soccer parents to many tournaments. He loved fishing and vacationing, especially in Canada, and on the Washington coast and in Mexico. He also enjoyed the many Christmases spent at his parents’ house in Minnesota. Jim’s golden retrievers also gave him years of happiness.

Jim was a wonderful husband, father, son, brother and friend. He will be always loved and always missed.

Survivors include Jim’s wife, Christi Paulsen, of Sagle, ID; son, Gunnar Paulson, of Salida, Calif.; sister, Sandra Friedlander and her husband John, both of Cordova, Tenn.; brother, Robert Paulsen (Selena), of Fort Collins, Colo.; brother Kevin (Kaye) Cogswell, of Othello, Wash.; sister Sarah (Scott) Ryan of Libby, Mont.; mother and father in-law, Joann and Dar Cogswell, of Sandpoint, ID; nieces: Kristin, Rachel, Leah, Ali and Sierra; nephews: Austin, Wesley and Jackson; and many dear friends. The last few months of his life he received wonderful care from the angels at Creekside Inn and Home Instead in Coeur d’Alene.

Memorial services will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 7, at the First Lutheran Church in Sandpoint, with Pastor Bob Chenault officiating. Burial will be in the Gamlin Lake Cemetery. Memorials may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association Inland Northwest Chapter, 910 W. Fifth Ave., Ste. 256, Spokane, Wash., 99204. Lakeview Funeral Home in Sandpoint is handling the arrangements. Please visit Jim’s online memorial at www.lakeviewfuneral.com and sign his guest book.