Jim Klein
Jim began playing pétanque about three years before he retired from Boeing as a software engineer. Jim’s history with Boeing began at a time, he said, “when everyone was getting a computer on their desk.” He thrived in taking care of tech problems.
He also had a knack for building loudspeakers. This was back in the early ‘60s when rock and roll was popular. After a stint in the Air Force in the late ‘60s, he went back to school and started doing speakers and amplifiers.
As a result, in the early 1970s Jim was instrumental in forming the company Speaker Lab. He was part owner and president of this up-and-coming company located in the Wedgewood neighborhood of Seattle. The company did well with five stores, and mail order. Any collectors of speaker and amp memorabilia? Ask Jim.
When he joined the petanque club, Jim brought his long-time gift of IT to the Edmonds Pétanque Club Board where he helped build our website. Thank you very much, Jim.
Taking another look back at Jim’s life, we learn that he and Don Bothell were friends at Cascade Junior High School. After not seeing Don for several years, one day Jim received a book about yoga in the mail from his longtime buddy. In 2015 the two reconnected and began playing pétanque. Don already knew Jack McHenry and Bob Mazelow, and the four began playing Pétanque in earnest. What a sweet way for the guys to begin making history.
Jim and wife, Kay, a retired marital family therapist, now split their time between Seattle and Tucson. Their daughter and her partner and two kids live locally in the family’s North Seattle home. Jim and Kay’s son who lives in South Florida is a professor at the University of Miami and just got tenure. Recently Jim brought daughter, Tessa, to the Pétanque courts for her first lesson with Dad. We all hope she comes back soon.
Pétanque-playing Jim coined the phrase “It’s slightly better to win than not to win.” He has a special memory on the winning side. About six years ago, he subbed in that year’s pétanque league, for Jerry Fireman, recently disabled. The new team of Jim and Karen Crabb finished “in the money.” Jim, for certain, has a heart for friends. He came up with a schedule, so that he, Don, and others could take turns visiting Jerry. It’s what friends are for.
Other perks of retirement for Jim include his love of travel, being outdoors, and spending time with family and friends. And golf, where Jim plays with pétanque pals Larry, Ron LaRue, Doug, and Leon. Here is another amazing slice of history being made.
Are you familiar with the terms “76 trombones”, “77 Sunset Strip” and “old school records are 78s”, and wondering what turning 79 represents? Our Veteran Pétanque Player, Jim Klein turned 79 this year. Seventy-nine years represents seven decades of an extraordinary journey – a life enriched with wisdom, cherished memories, and a legacy that you, Jim, have indelibly left in and on the hearts of your friends here at the Edmonds Pétanque Club.
Lolli Jacobsen
Lolli hails from Shoreline, WA and was one of the first members of the Edmonds Pétanque Club when it began in March 2011. Now she calls Noyo Yoyos her home pétanque club in the Fort Bragg/Mendocino area located near the beach in northern California. Each summer Lolli comes up from Fort Bragg, to wow us with her wonderful way of playing pétanque.
She and her husband Ron began learning the game back in 1999 as a party game in Fort Bragg and played with friends, a couple from Switzerland. They would play in the yard or on the driveway. Ron, according to Lolli, is a serious au savage player. Lolli recalls playing in water with a metal cochonnet and rolling the boules through puddles. Except for the metal coche, sure sounds familiar in our neck of the woods.
Ron is also a bike-riding fanatic and loves to ride in the early morning hours, touring Camano Island. He now opts for an electric assist bike. Lolli plays pétanque and Ron rides his bike. Sounds cool!
When they arrive at the family cabin on Camano Island, Lolli and Ron are back home. The cabin is a tiny, 400 square feet and was built in 1946 by her mom and dad and has remained in the family. Lolli’s niece bought it a few years ago and plans to renovate it to preserve all the lovingly accumulated characteristics it has embraced over the years.
In Fort Bragg, a few years ago, Lolli put together an informal tournament. Several of the Edmonds Pétanque Club members joined in, including Dick Van Hollebeke. The next time you see Forest Hertlein or Mike or Michelle Martin ask them to describe this fun and awesome tournament.
Lolli demonstrates her winning form
During the summer of 2016, July 31 to be exact, the fun really began when Lolli, and partners Karen Crabb and Michelle Martin won the Women’s Triple Regionals in Port Townsend. They were so surprised and ecstatic knowing what they had achieved. Well done all of you!
Inspired by their achievement, they kept going back. Then in March 2018 Lolli, one woman from Sacramento and another from Ft. Bragg surprised themselves again and took second place in the Women’s Nationals, played in Sacramento, CA. They were up against the big hitters.
It’s no surprise when teammate Karen Crabb touts Lolli as a very positive and all-round person who promotes pétanque. Lolli encourages anybody and everyone. Lolli is, indeed, engaging with her beautiful smile and genuine interest in her fellow players. And she loves to wear purple.
The word purple suggests fabric and texture, and this is another of Lolli’s hobbies and a livelihood she has pursued for years. Lolli’s career as weaver, fabric printer and dyer exemplify her fiber art in all sorts of colorful and original ways. Check out www.PacificTextileArts.org, located in Fort Bragg, to see what she has accomplished with a non-profit educational organization since 1993.
We are so glad to have you here for the summer, Lolli, as you get in as many pétanque playing days as possible and participate in tournaments like Bastille Day and the Edmonds Food Bank Tournament held later in August. You’ve got this! We will miss you when it’s time for you to head back home.