Jim Dobson

Jim passed away peacefully at his home in Seattle with his sons, Dominic and Patrick Dobson present. He was 95 years old.

Born to Bart and Betty Dobson in Powell Wyoming in 1930, Jim grew up with his younger siblings, Nancy and Johnnie. He studied engineering at Oregon State and later at the University of Oregon, and shortly thereafter joined the US Army as a motor pool driver at the Stuttgart Army Airfield (SAAF). Jim was married to Jean, later divorced, and after an honorable discharge from the army, he met Manon Forster, while visiting Zurich, Switzerland. After studying Industrial Design in Stuttgart, they married and Manon gave birth to Dominic at the local hospital. The three of them, along with Manon’s daughter, Desiree, moved to Seattle in later 1957, where son Patrick was born a few years later.

Jim loved architecture, engineering and building things. He was a creative and hard worker after getting his degree in Fine Arts in Seattle, and landed jobs at architectural firms in both Seattle and Eugene, Oregon, and then with a large Boeing subcontractor in Seattle designing and building lighted switch assemblies for Boeing growing line of commercial jets. Manon was a devout Catholic, enrolled all three children in Catholic schools.

Among his other interests were cars, art, sculpture and exploring the wilds of the Pacific NW. Family vacations often included the beautiful Oregon Coast, where a family property named “Cloud Nine” was located. When the two boys were older, he got them started in go-kart racing and soon, the whole family was traveling to races throughout Washington, Oregon and British Columbia. Jim was very supportive of Dominic’s career in auto racing, eventually competing in seven Indy 500 races and many 24 hour endurance races, including the 24 hrs of LeMans in 1989.

After Manon tragically passed away, Jim met Susan Zuege and they began a new life, traveling to their favorite destinations including the Orkney Islands, England, Italy and the Canadian Maritimes. They married in 1996 and purchased a home in the Ravenna neighborhood in Seattle, where they would host many dinner parties and made many new friends. Together, their wit, generosity and sense of humor filled a room with a welcoming warmth.

Sadly, Sue passed away peacefully on December 6, 2025 at their new home in Lower Queen Anne and Jim survived only 5 weeks longer, and also passed peacefully on January 13th, 2026.

Jim is survived by his sons, Dominic and Patrick and stepdaughter, Desiree Damico,

Jim’s seven grandchildren, his younger sister Nancy Lematta, his nephews and nieces, and many friends.

In Lieu of flowers, Jim would have liked you to make a small donation to The Sierra Club or the ACLU, as he was a champion of the outdoors and everyone’s rights and freedoms.