James Merriweather

James Merriweather, Jimmy to his friends, was born in Everett, Washington, and grew up around boats. He enlisted in the Coast Guard in January 2003 and trained as a Boatswain's Mate. He served with Port Security Unit 313 out of Everett and deployed twice to the Persian Gulf, protecting harbors and shipping during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Jimmy was the one who volunteered for the night watch and then sang badly to keep everyone awake. Shipmates remember him as calm in rough water and generous with his time, always teaching the newest crew members the knots and the rules that keep people alive. He was awarded a commendation for his part in a rescue during a winter storm in Puget Sound in 2009.

After leaving the service in 2011, Jimmy ran a small boat repair shop on the waterfront and volunteered with a search and rescue team. He married Anna Reyes in 2012, and they had two children who inherited his love of the water and his terrible singing voice.

Jimmy passed in October 2023 at the age of forty one. His family and his crewmates built this page so that anyone who scans the code at his marker can meet the Jimmy they knew: steady, funny, and always looking out for the person next to him.