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Uncle Jim, Hydroplanes, and Chip Hanauer

With Chip Hanauer in front of the classic Atlas Van Lines at the Hydroplane & Raceboat Museum
With Chip Hanauer in front of the classic Atlas Van Lines at the Hydroplane & Raceboat Museum

Yesterday I went to a party / memorial service for my Uncle Jim, my Dad’s oldest brother. Jim passed away after a three year battle with cancer. He was a husband of 38 years, a father of two, and grandfather. Jim was also a hobbyist. One of his favorite hobbies, if not his favorite, was hydroplanes. He loved everything hydroplanes. A number of years ago he began a relationship with the Hydroplane & Raceboat Museum in Kent, Washington, where he lived out his childhood dreams by helping to rebuild classic hydroplanes and becoming a part of the hydroplane community.

Jim’s party was at the Hydroplane & Raceboat Museum. Drake, Cole, and Birk got a chance to sit in a classic hydroplane, see several others, and meet a living legend in the hydroplane world, Chip Hanauer.

Cole in the Miss Budwieser
Cole in the Miss Budwieser
Drake in the Miss Budwieser
Drake in the Miss Budwieser
Birk in the Miss Budwieser
Birk in the Miss Budwieser

The boys are already talking about how we can’t miss the hydroplane races at Seafair next summer. Uncle Jim would be proud.