James Alan Garhart

Wasilla resident James Alan Garhart (aka “Lazy Mountain Jim”), 63, was found deceased Aug. 1, 2012.

Burial services are at noon, Sept. 2 in the Chickaloon Family Village Graveyard, 3/4 of a mile down Chickaloon River Trail. A service to celebrate his life is at 3 p.m. in Sutton at the Health Building by the tribal graveyard.

Jim was born March 14, 1949, to Jack Garhart Sr. and Alice Meissner in Long Island, N.Y. As a child, he worked for Garhart and Craig Greenhouses in Bluepoint, Long Island. He graduated from high school in 1967 in Jefferson, N.Y., and immediately joined the Army has a communications lineman. He was sent to South Korea, stationed in the DMZ for 18 months before receiving orders for Vietnam. He was discharged in 1973.

After service he became a tile setter in Savannah, Ga., before moving to Sacramento, Calif., living across the street from the federal building. After taking several college courses on the GI Bill, Jim moved to Alaska, becoming a resident in 1976. From 1976 to 1989, he was the owner of No Jive Productions, the largest candle manufacturer in the largest state in the union. From 1989 to 1991, he operated Lazy J Logo T-Shirts Silkscreening, went fishing in 1991, attended a drug education program in 1993, and from 1995 to 2010 worked as a courier for Mat-Su Legal Couriers Inc. He retired in 2011.

Survivors include an older brother, Jack Garhart II of Hancock, N.Y; and younger half-brother, Michael Garhart of Roseland, Fla.

Jim was predeceased by his father, Jack Garhart Sr. on Dec. 7, 1991; brother, Wayne Garhart; and mother, Alice Meissner in 2010.