James A Dalfin

December 28, 1945 - December 14, 2020

James A Dalfin was born on December 28, 1945 in Denver, Colorado, and passed away on December 14, 2020, after a brief illness.
James was an inspiration to all who knew him. He called himself "a service guy", and his greatest joy was to give selfless service wherever he could. He had prodigious organizational skills, and put them to work helping friends and family members with everything from packing up and moving to organizing their electronic files. His motto was "Love all, Serve all", and he put that into practice every day.
James was a person of strong will and persistence. Despite suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome for forty some years, he always pushed himself to exercise and to be as active as he could. He was a firm believer in the power of exercise to combat his fatigue symptoms, and, despite those challenges, he was a lifelong runner, swimmer and bicycler. He participated in triathlons and long distance bike rides, as well as shorter running and swimming events. He loved to run and walk in Minto-Brown and Bush Parks in Salem.
James' life work was in health care. He began as a medic in the Army during the Vietnam era. He went on to become a Registered Nurse, working in many different roles. His favorite was as a Labor and Delivery Nurse and Lamaze Teacher. In retirement, he took care of friends and relatives dealing with illnesses and end of life issues. He also worked in the Infirmary at Mount Angel Abbey, caring for elderly and sick monks.
James had a strong spiritual faith and practice. He had no fear of death, after having had a near death experience as a small child, which left him convinced of the continuation of life after death, and of the unconditional love that is our true home in God. He was dedicated to his spiritual path and practice. He had a beautiful singing voice, and enjoyed singing love songs to God and singing "Happy Birthday" to his family and friends.
James was a devoted husband, father, grandfather, and friend. He is survived by his loving and beloved wife, Katryn (Karen) VanTassell of Salem, and by his sister, Pamela Mayo of Sacramento and his brother and sister-in-law, Ron and Ann Mayo and their children Kevin and Kelly, all of San Diego. He is also survived by his daughter Terri and her husband Dave Falcone of Sacramento and his step-children: Daniel Brown of Portland, Justin and Jen Wasik-Brown of Chicago, Keith and Abby Brown of Columbia, MO, and Theresa and Chris Ellison of Phoenix; and his grandchildren: Carson Vanderveer and Chris Falcone, both of Sacramento; Sage Brown of Columbia, MO; Henry and Eli Brown of Chicago; and Isaiah Zwagerman of Phoenix. He will also be missed by many, many dear friends in Salem and around the country and the world.
A Memorial Service will be held via Zoom on Sunday, January 31 at 2 PM PST. Those interested are encouraged to contact a family member or close friend of the family for more details.
James loved to feed those in need, so donations in his memory may be made to the Marion-Polk Food Share at: marionpolkfoodshare.org.

Guest Book Entries

Deep blessings to you dear Kat!

After only seeing James a handful of times I knew what a great person he was....after all....his partner Kat is one of the nicest and genuine people I've met so James HAD to be a keeper. He finally has made his journey complete and no doubt is having a most divine experience.....I'm SO grateful that Kat has a grand support system. Our love to all!!

Brother James was very kind and considerate Soul. I knew him from the church gatherings that He and Sisterji {Kat} had
at there house when we had our meetings. His love for his spiritual path, God and his wonderful wife Kat made him what
he was and is. It looks like he had a large family that loved him very much. We will miss James a lot because he was that kind of person who wanted to serve and treat everyone with respect. He now starts a new journey in his next phase of life. May God and all the great Masters bless him and be with him always.

I'm sorry for your loss. You are in my prayers.

Teresa Joslin

James was an inspiration to us with his warm hospitality and service at our annual spiritual retreats. We thank God for his friendship and love to all.

The memory of James is of a story teller, who shared and delighted in being part of and belonging to a community. He was an incredibly service-full friend who was always the first to assist, help, support and provide his understanding and knowledge. His laughter was contagious along with the twinkle in his eye. We will miss our India Palace dinners together. Our hope is to be one of the many people who love you Katryn and who will be doing our best to surround your tender and healing heart with love. We will be sending James lots of goodwill as he continues onto the next journey. Much love, Abby and Thomas

Karen, I'm so very sorry for your family's loss. James was a treasure, a true friend, and lived his mantra with intention, love, compassion, and great humor. The brotherhood he shared with my dad, Skip, has been one of his life's greatest blessings. Much love to you and to all who loved him.

Dear Katryn ,
I deeply,deeply miss my dear friend /Brother James . He truly inspired me to be a more loving person by bringing so much love into my life . He continues to affect the world in a most positive ,loving way as I know from the
responses of my 4 children after I sent each of them your beautiful tribute to James .
Much Love to you ,
Skip

I have known my dear brother James for almost 20 years. He is an excellent person to be around, a genuine spiritual aspirant, always looking for opportunities to serve others. I worked with him a lot during our annual spiritual retreats. He is very detail oriented and always wants to do things the right way. I will dearly miss my brother James and feel extremely sorry for not being able to be in person for the memorial service due to current situations. I will keep him and his family in my prayers. While this is a loss that can never be filled, I am sure bro.James is in a better place. Please let me know if I can be of help in any way.