Jim Buchan, a former resident of Henning and long-time journalist, died Sunday, Dec. 4, 2022 at his home in Walla Walla, Wash., after a battle with cancer. He was 78.

Buchan spent 52 years as a sports reporter and sports editor at the Walla Walla Union Bulletin where he started his journalism career in 1968. He retired as sports editor in 2010 but continued to work for the newspaper as a part-time writer for the next decade.

His life in the newspaper business actually took roots in Henning in the early 1960s. Lyn and Lois Johnson, owners of the Henning Advocate, hired him on a part-time basis to write Henning High School sports news and fold papers as they rolled off the press on Wednesday nights. He eventually became a printer’s devil and worked in all facets of the paper that included his writing gig and running presses.

He continued his Advocate duties through his high school graduation in 1962. For the next few years, Buchan spent summers and falls in southeastern Washington and Oregon where he worked in the pea and wheat harvests. He made frequent returns to Minnesota. He furthered his education at Moorhead State College in Minnesota and also at Blue Mountain Community College in Pendleton, OR, and Oregon State University in Corvallis, OR.

His last stint at the Henning Advocate came in 1966-67. During that spring, he covered the state basketball tournament where the Henning Hornets were making their second appearance in a row. In May of 1967, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserves and completed basic training at Fort Ord, CA that September. He transferred from a Fergus Falls reserve unit to a unit out west where he completed his six-years of military duty.

In 1973 he met Margaret Donaldson in Walla Walla and they married in 1974. Together, they raised seven children.

In 1990, Margaret and Jim purchased a historic home near the Whitman College campus and transformed the home and an adjacent carriage house to a bed-and-breakfast, Green Gables Inn. Together, they ran the business for the next 17 years before selling the business in 2007.

During his years in Walla Walla, Buchan remained active in personal sporting activities that included golfing, running, softball, basketball, and racquet ball. He also spent more than 20 years as a Little League baseball coach in Walla Walla. In their retirement years, the couple traveled extensively throughout the United States and to Europe.

In early 2022, he was diagnosed with a rare form of thyroid cancer. Despite the cancer, his love of golf remained strong and he continued to play until late October when late colder weather set in.

James Ross Buchan was born on Dec. 28, 1943, the second of three sons of C. Harley and Louise (Jacobsen) Buchan. He was named after his grandfather, James Buchan.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Margaret on Oct. 17, 2022; his parents, and one brother, Don Buchan, on June 24, 2022.

He is survived by his children, Michele (Jim) Daniels, Tim (Katherine) Donaldson, Miriam (Mark) Grant, Vade (Sara) Donaldson, Dan (Andrea) Donaldson, Anne (Robert Sickels) Buchan, and Aaron Buchan; 21 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren; one brother, Cliff (Jeanne) Buchan; one sister-in-law, Linda Buchan; and many other relatives, including niece Jill (Tim) Cossette and nephew Todd (Sandy) Buchan.

A rosary in Jim’s honor will be recited on Thursday, Dec. 15 at Herring Groseclose Funeral Home, Walla Walla. A Mass of Christian Burial will take place at 10 a.m., Friday, Dec. 16 at Assumption Catholic Church, Walla Walla. Interment will follow at Blue Mountain Memorial Gardens, Walla Walla.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Walla Walla Pacific Little League, St. Francis Catholic Church, or Assumption Catholic Church through Herring Groseclose Funeral Home, 315 W. Alder St., Walla Walla, WA 99362. Friends and family are invited to sign the online guestbook at www.herringgroseclose.com