Memorial Scholarships & Grants

James “Jim” M. Wade was a leader in Washington’s tree fruit industry and community throughout his lifetime. His legacy continues through his family who now operate Columbia Fruit Packers, an apple and cherry growing and packing operation in its fourth generation of Wade family leadership.

Jim was born in Okanogan, WA and spent the majority of his youth in Wenatchee. He graduated from Wenatchee High School in 1944. In his senior year of high school, Jim enlisted in the U.S. Air Force.

He attended Washington State College, University of Washington and Wenatchee Valley College. After college, Jim returned to Wenatchee to work in the fruit industry and soon after joined his father at Columbia Fruit Packers as sales manager in 1950. In 1989, Jim was also the driving force behind the formation of CMI Orchards Inc.

Jim married Camille Jones in 1949. Jim and Camille shared a passion for travel and together they explored the world, visiting every continent except Antarctica. Jim was a bird hunter, fisherman, sailor, pilot, and he loved spending time at Lake Chelan. They had four children. His wife preceded him in death in 2011 after 62 years of marriage.

Jim worked quietly but effectively in the community. He was a founding director and stockholder in Wenatchee Mountain Inc., which developed the Mission Ridge ski area in 1966. He was a long-time supporter of the Salvation Army, YMCA, the Boy Scouts, Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center, and the Numerica Performing Arts Center. He helped raise money for the Boy Scouts to purchase Scout-A-Vista. Jim and his family set up the Wade Dialysis Fund, renamed the Wade Family Literacy Fund, which provides a book for each child who is born or is a patient of Central Washington Hospital. He also provided the initial funding to build the children’s library in Wenatchee, the “Camille Jones Wade Children’s Library.”

Jim believed in service and served on the boards of numerous industry organizations. He was a founding member of the Washington Apple Education Foundation and served on the boards of the U.S. Apple Association, Washington State Fruit Commission, Washington Apple Commission and Northwest Horticultural Council, among others. In his service to WAEF, he was chairman of the annual golf tournaments for many years raising funds for foundation operations and scholarship support.

In 1995 he was named Apple Citizen of the Year and in 2016 received the Spirit of A.Z. Wells award.

At the time of his death, he was survived by three children, seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.