James “Jim” T. Tackes

James (Jim) T. Tackes of Missoula, Montana passed away of coronary artery disease at his home on May 9, 2023.

He was born on April 18, 1932 in Great Falls, Montana during the Great Depression. He was the youngest child of nine children born to pioneers Joseph and Katherine (Keller) Tackes, who were homesteading near Power, Montana. Jim grew up and attended a one-room schoolhouse in Power and graduated as class Valedictorian from Power High School in 1950.

He believed that the basic values he was given as a child growing up in “a poor farm family” guided decisions he made throughout his life. He said these values included a “strong desire to help others by using his knowledge, skills, and talents; knowing the difference between wants and needs; getting by without having the best of everything; to not be wasteful; respect my parents; don’t take the things that are not mine.”

Jim graduated with honors in 1954 from Carroll College in Helena, Montana where he completed undergraduate degrees in philosophy, education, and history. From the Helena Diocese he then entered St Thomas Seminary in Denver, Colorado, where he received a Master’s degree in Theology. He was ordained a Catholic priest by Bishop Gilmore at the Immaculate Conception Church in Butte on May 31, 1958, and celebrated his first mass at Guardian Angels Church in Power, Montana on June 2, 1958.

His pastoral assignments included Little Flower Parish on the Blackfeet Reservation in Browning, Montana; Holy Rosary Parish in Bozeman, Montana; St. Rose Parish in Dillon, Montana. In 1963, Jim established a mission in the Mayan village of Santo Tomas, Guatemala, under the mentorship of Bishop Raymond Hunthausen. During the four years he ministered as a priest at the mission, he also served as a general contractor and built a residence for staff and volunteers as well as a clinic to tend to the needs of the villagers. Years later, in 2008 and 2016, along with students and parishioners on pilgrimage and his daughter (in 2016), he returned to the mission and was welcomed and remembered for all he had done for the community. To this day the mission is still active and continues to serve the Mayan people.

Upon receiving permission from Rome in 1969, Jim resigned from the active priesthood; later that year he married Pat Sheehan. They moved to Minneapolis where Jim worked for 5 years as Executive Director for the Minnesota Association for Retarded Citizens.

During that time, in 1972, he and Pat adopted Lori Ann. To be near Jim’s aging parents, the family then moved to Browning, Montana where he worked as a special education teacher in the local grammar and high schools. In the 4 years he lived in Browning he established and managed a Radio Shack as well as, along with community members, formed a nonprofit corporation for developmentally challenged adults.

Several years later when the family relocated to Libby, Montana, this work experience procured him a position as Executive Director for Achievements, Inc., a nonprofit organization serving adults with developmental disabilities, a position he held for 20 years. During that time in Libby, he also built a log home for the family, planted and sold fir trees for Christmas.

Upon his retirement in 1997, Jim volunteered his construction skills for Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit corporation that builds affordable family homes, and participated in construction of Habitat’s first house in Libby. He once stated, “My basic philosophy was if people were hungry and they didn’t have a place to live, it was very difficult to talk to them about God.”

After Pat passed away in 2000, he married Lori’s birth mother, Rosemary Hosie, that same year. He designed and built their home in Florence, Montana, where they lived until Rosemary’s death in 2014. They were active in the Catholic Church, working for reform by establishing Concerned Catholics of Montana.

Jim always enjoyed using his wide range of talents, including management, carpentry, handyman, builder and engineer skills, and served as a spiritual director. He was an avid hiker and mountain climber, an accomplished artist in drawing, woodwork, furniture construction, and stained glass.

In 2017, at age 84 he wrote and published a book entitled “Jim’s Story.’ At the end of it he states: “I wrote this book in hopes that this story may continue to help others live a richer life in service to others.” He also writes: “I have no intention to get married again but I do feel that I must remain open to helping people.... I ask God’s blessing that I continue to be open to the Spirit as it pushes me ahead into new possibilities.”

In 2016, he met Linda Plamondon at a Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (BVM) associate retreat in Dubuque, Iowa. They were married in August 2018 and established their residence in Missoula. Jim continued to be open to new possibilities as he traveled with Linda throughout the United States while continuing to share his knowledge, skills, and talents with others.

Jim was a long time associate member of the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Dubuque, Iowa), member of Christ the King Parish (Missoula, Montana), the Missoula Senior Forum, the Friendship Force of Missoula with whom in he traveled to New Zealand in 2017.

Jim’s kind, wise, gentle, and creative spirit will be greatly missed by family, friends, and all who came in contact with him over his lifetime. He is survived by his wife, Linda (Parsons) Plamondon, daughter Lori Ann (Tackes) Gavin and son-in-law Vince Gavin, sister Helen (Tackes) Paulson, numerous nieces, nephews, great nieces and nephews and godchildren. He was predeceased by his spouses Pat (Sheehan) Tackes and Rosemary (Hosie) Tackes, his parents Joe and Katie Tackes, and siblings Michael, Joseph, Louis, Jerome, Kern Tackes, Marcella Tackes, and Clara (Tackes) Perrier.

Evening vigil prayer service and sharing will take place at Christ the King Catholic Church in Missoula, Montana on Tuesday, May 30 at 7:00 pm. .

A Mass of the Resurrection will be celebrated at Christ the King Catholic Church in Missoula at 11:00 am Wednesday, May 31, 2023, the 65th anniversary of Jim’s ordination.

Memorial donations may be made “in memory of Jim Tackes” to the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Hunger Fund) 1100 Carmel Drive, Dubuque, Iowa 52003-7991 (www.bvmsisters.org or 663-588-2351), or Partners in Home Care (Hospice) Missoula County www.partnersinhomecare.org (406-728-8848).