James Wick Kofoed

James W. Kofoed, 68, passed away suddenly on November 10, 2022. Jim had been struggling for the last five years with several health issues, including congestive heart failure and Lewy Body Dementia. A recent and fast bout with Influenza was more than his heart could handle.
Jim was born and raised in Logan, Utah. He always told people he was a “naive native”. He graduated from Logan High School in 1972 and served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Australia West Mission from 1973-1975. He talked of his experiences and the people he met and the beauty of that land all of his life. It was one of the accomplishments he was most proud of.
Jim married Geri Harward, a friend since jr. high school, on Feb. 12, 1976, in the Logan Temple. He always said that his greatest accomplishment in life was his family. He adored his wife and three sons with his whole heart and could not get enough time with his grandchildren. They made him so happy. He would show pictures of them and brag about them to anyone who would listen.
For 15 years Jim managed The Sportsman in downtown Logan. He loved that job, because it involved all the things he loved to do and built lifelong friendships. He moved on to what he called “a real job” in management for the Deseret Industries, first in Brigham City and then in Logan for 27 years. His health forced retirement in 2019. He loved the D.I., or the “Danish Imports” as he would call it, and the many, many friends he made there over the years. One of his dear D.I. friends said, “He really understood what the D.I. was all about.” Even when his memory first started to fail and he’d quit driving, Geri would take him to volunteer and teach the safety classes to new employees.
Jim’s love and passion was skiing. He started on the hill in his backyard when he was very young. He would take the ski school bus to Beaver Mountain before he could drive, or he would walk to the mouth of the canyon with his gear and “hitch” a ride. He became a member of the Beaver Mountain Ski Patrol in 1983 and served for 30+ years. His National Ski Patrol National number was very special to him. Even after his first knee replacement, when he couldn’t ski, he continued to go up to Beaver Mountain weekly to help with injuries in the ski patrol building. He was never able to get back on skis and he missed it so much. He delighted in watching videos of his precious sons teaching his grandchildren to ski. We all hope that a long fall-line, thigh deep powder run is the first thing he gets to do on the other “backside”!
Jim was a “one of a kind” man. His warm and friendly demeanor just drew people in. A friend said, “He is a man who lifts wherever he walks”. His children and wife dreaded taking him to the grocery store because it took so long. He would visit with employees and friends who he’d known from the D.I., employees he had befriended because he loved shopping, or friends from school, work, church, or the Cache Valley ski community. And if there were no one he knew at the store, he would make a new friend. The day of his death, as sick and delirious as he was, he learned the name of every single person that came into the room, where they were from and who their parents were.
Jim was a deeply spiritual person and had a great faith. He loved his Savior and thanked his Heavenly Father daily for his presence and impact in his life. All who knew him could attest to the “Light of Christ” in his eyes.
Jim is survived by his wife Geri, his three sons, Kristopher (Alesha), Timothy (Missy) and Benjamin (Kristin) and eight grandchildren: Ayden, Keegan, Zack, Maelie, Kelton, Watson, Nora, and Hannah, He is also survived by his sisters, Leslie Austin and Pam Austin and brother Clair Kofoed, his sister-in-law, Patti Rash (Brooks), and brothers-in-law Richard Harward (Martha) and Stephen Harward (Marie) and his many nieces and nephews and their children. If he weren’t bragging about one of his children or grandchildren, he was sharing about his nieces and nephews. He loved them all so much. He was preceded in death by his parents, Weldon and Delva Kofoed and his sister Kathy Comish.
Funeral services will be held Saturday Nov. 19th, at 1:30 pm at the North Logan Stake Center, 2750 North 800 East, North Logan. There will be a visitation from 11:00 am -1:15pm. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Allen-Hall Mortuary. www.allenmortuaries.com