James
James O. Selland
James O. Selland
CHANDLER – James Selland, age 76, passed away March 12, 2022 at home. Jim was born November 11, 1945 in Rugby, ND to Ole and Gladys Selland, the youngest of 8 siblings. Ole was the son of Norwegian immigrants and Jim was proud of his Norwegian heritage. He graduated from Rugby High School in 1963 and was accepted into the ROTC program at North Dakota State University. He graduated in 1967 with a degree in Electrical Engineering.
After college Jim entered the Air Force as a Second Lieutenant and was assigned to Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts where he performed weather research by flying into hurricanes. When he completed his active duty he worked as a civilian for the Air Force, which included five years stationed in Germany. He returned to the United States in 1979 and worked at Andrews Air Force Base in Clinton, MD. In September 1981 Jim was accepted into the National War College as a representative from the Department of Defense and was later transferred to the Pentagon.
Ultimately, he was recruited to work for IBM in their Federal Systems Division in Rosslyn, Virginia and enjoyed working on numerous projects for the Federal government, including installing a video conferencing system in the White House. In August of 1989 IBM moved Jim and his family to Brussels, Belgium to work on the External Programs Europe team, coordinating marketing to the countries in the European Union.
In August of 1993 he took a leave of absence from IBM to work with The Navigators, an international interdenominational Christian ministry in Colorado Springs, CO. In October of 1997 he returned to IBM in Boulder, Colorado. In July of 2004, he and his wife, Debbie, were drawn to relocate to Chandler, AZ to be near their children and their grandchildren.
Jim loved traveling, skiing, sailing, hunting and fishing. He was a very committed churchman and an active leader in church mission projects and Habitat for Humanity. Jim is survived by his wife Debbie (of 40 years), daughter Nicole (German) Ospina and grandchildren Elliston and Anika, son Jonathan, stepson Nate (Christine) Vaughn and grandchildren Alexandra and Nicholas, son Joshua and grandchildren Jeremiah and Ethan, and brother Robert Selland and sister Mary Ann Loiselle.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, April 9
th
, at 3:00 pm at Hope Covenant Church in Chandler (Live stream on Facebook.com/hopecov/, and the burial will be in Rugby, North Dakota this summer. In Lieu of flowers donations can be made either to Hope Covenant Church 1770 S. Dobson Rd., Chandler, AZ; website: www.hopechurchchandler, OR to Naomi House, a foster home for Native American Children, P. O. Box 205, Joseph City, AZ 86032 website: https://thenaomihouse.org.
CHANDLER – James Selland, age 76, passed away March 12, 2022 at home. Jim was born November 11, 1945 in Rugby, ND to Ole and Gladys Selland, the youngest of 8 siblings. Ole was the son of Norwegian immigrants and Jim was proud of his Norwegian heritage. He graduated from Rugby High School in 1963 and was accepted into the ROTC program at North Dakota State University. He graduated in 1967 with a degree in Electrical Engineering.
After college Jim entered the Air Force as a Second Lieutenant and was assigned to Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts where he performed weather research by flying into hurricanes. When he completed his active duty he worked as a civilian for the Air Force, which included five years stationed in Germany. He returned to the United States in 1979 and worked at Andrews Air Force Base in Clinton, MD. In September 1981 Jim was accepted into the National War College as a representative from the Department of Defense and was later transferred to the Pentagon.
Ultimately, he was recruited to work for IBM in their Federal Systems Division in Rosslyn, Virginia and enjoyed working on numerous projects for the Federal government, including installing a video conferencing system in the White House. In August of 1989 IBM moved Jim and his family to Brussels, Belgium to work on the External Programs Europe team, coordinating marketing to the countries in the European Union.
In August of 1993 he took a leave of absence from IBM to work with The Navigators, an international interdenominational Christian ministry in Colorado Springs, CO. In October of 1997 he returned to IBM in Boulder, Colorado. In July of 2004, he and his wife, Debbie, were drawn to relocate to Chandler, AZ to be near their children and their grandchildren.
Jim loved traveling, skiing, sailing, hunting and fishing. He was a very committed churchman and an active leader in church mission projects and Habitat for Humanity. Jim is survived by his wife Debbie (of 40 years), daughter Nicole (German) Ospina and grandchildren Elliston and Anika, son Jonathan, stepson Nate (Christine) Vaughn and grandchildren Alexandra and Nicholas, son Joshua and grandchildren Jeremiah and Ethan, and brother Robert Selland and sister Mary Ann Loiselle.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, April 9
th
, at 3:00 pm at Hope Covenant Church in Chandler (Live stream on Facebook.com/hopecov/, and the burial will be in Rugby, North Dakota this summer. In Lieu of flowers donations can be made either to Hope Covenant Church 1770 S. Dobson Rd., Chandler, AZ; website: www.hopechurchchandler, OR to Naomi House, a foster home for Native American Children, P. O. Box 205, Joseph City, AZ 86032 website: https://thenaomihouse.org.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of James O. Selland, please visit our flower store.
Guestbook
Visits: 7
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the
Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors