Community
Fox Island mourns community leader Jim Braden
If the tight-knit community of Fox Island had a mayor, it would have been Jim Braden.
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Braden was responsible for making Fox Island a model for emergency preparedness and turning the old Nichols schoolhouse into a community center.
Braden died July 9. He was 83 years old.
More than one person who knew Braden said he was a problem solver, said Doug Nelson, a former Fox Island resident. Newcomers never knew that Braden was the author of their welcome letter that spelled out attributes of Fox Island life, said Craig McLaughlin, who worked with Braden on many community issues.
“Jim was my right hand man,” Nelson said. “Anything going on the island, he’d call me or I’d call him. We just worked to solve any issues that arise. … He always knew how to contact the right person to work on issues.
“He was the unofficial mayor of Fox Island.”
Jim Braden
Service above self
Neighbors have no shortage of accolades for the work that Braden did on behalf of his community and FICRA (formerly the Fox Island Community and Recreation Association). He often helped Boy Scouts work toward their Eagle Scout status and just a week before his death he volunteered to help high school students brush up on job interviewing skills.
“Jim was the one guy that every community needs,” McLaughlin said. “He was the guy who would know how to do almost anything and would actually do it. It’s not an overstatement to say that there isn’t a thread in the fabric of the Fox Island community that Jim didn’t weave, repair or replace. ”
Gig Harbor City Administrator Katrina Knutson said: “Jim was a shining example of service above self. He approached everything he did with the intention to make a difference for others.”
Braden is survived his wife, Carolyn Braden; daughter Kim Braden and spouse Jerry Field; son Ryan Braden and spouse Tawni Braden; and three grandchildren. Services are pending. The family asked that anyone who wants to make a donation in Braden’s name do so to the FICRA Building Trust.
Jim Braden of the Fox Island Community and Recreation Association Emergency Response Organization in 2022. Christina T Henry
The old school house
Years ago, Braden saw an abandoned school house on Ninth Avenue and began to transform it into something that everyone could embrace.
Built in 1934, the school served students on the island until the 1960s. The building sat vacant until 1996, when it was transformed into the Nichols Community Center. It is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
When the old building needed a new roof, Braden was there helping build community and bring people together. When it needed new flooring, he was there. New kitchen? No sweat.
The building not only preserves a slice of history for Fox Island, it brings people together in its meeting rooms, mahjong games, family movie nights, and morning men’s coffee get-togethers.
Braden and other FICRA board members host an annual fundraiser to pay for improvements, said Arlyn Lawrence, a Fox Island resident and president of the community group.
“He made sure that building was meticulous,” Lawrence said. “Every year (the board) does a party with a purpose, a silent auction and main social event on the island to raise money to maintain the Nichols Community Center.
“I don’t know the backstory with the Nichols name, but I honestly think it should be renamed the Jim Braden community center.”
Braden had a gift of collaboration and community building, Lawrence said.
Everyone’s prepared
A couple of years ago, Braden and Nelson worked together to prepare the island community with disaster training. The group was seen as a model for community-level emergency planning.
They were one of the few residential groups in Pierce County to take part in the 2016 Cascadia Rising drill. The drill is a multi-state simulation of how to respond to a major seismic event on the Cascadia Subduction Zone.
Disaster training and emergency preparedness are crucial in a community of 3,600 residents with only one way off and on the island: An aging, deteriorating bridge.
Visitors can find the heartbeat of the community’s preparedness, and Braden’s legacy, inside the Nichols Community Center. The building is the command center for disaster response.
“Jim knew things that went on and did something about it,” Lawrence said. “He did it quietly. He was a public servant in the truest sense of that word.”
McLaughlin said many people who benefited from Braden’s work for the community may never have met him.
“He’s a huge loss in the community,” McLaughlin said. “I loved the man like a brother. Many people knew of him and what he did for the island.”