James Walter Rains

James (Jim) Rains passed away peacefully at his home on January 23, 2023. Jim was born in Portland, Oregon in 1950 to Viola and Walter Rains. As a young child, his family (including his parents and older sister, Helen) moved to Northern California; from then on, he fully embraced California as his home. Jim admired the natural world, which he explored as an avid hiker, cyclist, road trip enthusiast, nature photographer, star gazer, and animal lover. Beyond his zeal for nature, he was also an athlete and dedicated sports fan, and he was passionate about classic rock music. But his greatest joys of all were his children: Lindsay, Emily, and Michael.

Jim graduated from California State University, Sacramento (CSUS) in 1973 with a Bachelor’s in Biology, focusing on Botany. As a student, he managed the CSUS arboretum, proudly planting many trees, shrubs, and flowers for future generations to enjoy. After graduation, Jim worked in a lumber mill in McCloud, California before returning to CSUS to pursue a second Bachelor’s in Geography. There, he met his future wife and fellow geography student, Janice (Jan) Brownfield. They fell in love while exploring California together and celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary in 2022. In addition to exploring the state with his family, Jim also dedicated decades of his life to California as a public servant, first working in environmental planning for Sacramento County and later for the California Department of Food and Agriculture.

Jim is survived by his wife, Jan, his children, Lindsay, Emily, and Michael, his grandson, Ian, and his sister, Helen. The celebration of his life will be held at 11 am on March 5th at the Putah Creek Lodge, U.C. Davis arboretum, where he enjoyed countless walks and Easter egg hunts with his children, wife, and pet dogs. For further details about the celebration of life, please call Fran at 425-443-5456. If you would like to make a donation in Jim’s memory, please consider the American River Parkway Foundation (https://arpf.org/).