James Salmon

James E. (Jim) Salmon was born July 10, 1943 to Orville J. and Mary Jane Salmon in San Francisco, CA, but the family home was in Salt Lake City. From the time he turned 8, he was an active member of the Boy Scouts, becoming an Eagle Scout, serving as a scoutmaster, a National Jamboree leader, and eventually remaining active for 67 years in many leadership and merit badge counselor positions. He was also awarded the Silver Beaver award as well as others. As a young man, he went on a mission for his church and was in the Army and Army reserve, spending his years in the Special Forces. Upon returning to Salt Lake City, he was employed with the State of Utah working at the Utah State Laboratory, the Division of Environmental Health, and the Department of Environmental Quality over the next 34 years. He was primarily an environmental chemist, but also worked in environmental standards enforcement. He and his family became active in the Mountain Man reenactment groups and rendezvous gatherings, both local and national. He became a National Rendezvous coordinator, National Rendezvous chief, serving on the Board of Directors for National Muzzleloaders, and, at one time, worked with a group creating a new muzzleloading magazine as well as a recognition program for muzzleloading hunters. He was a past president of local clubs such as Mountain Men of the Wasatch and the Utah branch of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company, and in 1986 he was in charge of the largest national muzzleloading encampment ever held in the western United States. As part of these interests, he also formed a company that dealt exclusively in items related to muzzleloading and the fur trade era reenactments. Upon retiring, he moved to Castleton in the Moab area and was active as a substitute teacher at Grand County schools. As a substitute teacher, however, he had what could only be described as a very unique approach to his subjects. While his skills in the sciences and math were great for teaching, his lack of knowledge in some fields like music made for some funny encounters with his students such as his suggestion that perhaps the orchestra musicians could march up and down the halls playing marching band tunes. He served on and chaired several boards in Moab, including the Recreation Board, Solid Waste District, and the Cemetery Board. It was there that he also developed an interest in mountain biking. After moving to Washington, UT, in 2006, he continued with his biking, eventually racking up over 53,000 miles which he liked to tell people was “twice around the circumference of the earth.” Jim is survived by his wife Rusty, children Andrew J. (Gina) Salmon and Jamie (Rusty) Zimmerman as well as stepchildren Dave (Liesl) Bench and Tracy (Jim) Murray, his brother David (Robyn) Salmon, and sisters Sue (Brent) Wallace and Emily (Paul) Greco. He dearly loved each of his 11 grandchildren, as well as his 4 great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents as well as his younger brother Steve Salmon. A graveside service will be held Tuesday, September 15, 2026, at 11:00 AM at the Salt Lake City Cemetery. 200 N St E, Salt Lake City, UT 84103.