James Conrad Fowler

James Conrad Fowler, 52, of Bellingham, passed away on February 1st of 2022. He fought a challenging three year battle with stage 4 cancer. He passed peacefully, at his home, with his wife and daughter by his side.
Jim is survived by his wife Elicia; daughter Kassidy Fowler; parents Rick and Leah Fowler; brothers Ken (Laurette) Fowler and Christopher (Piper) Fowler; mother-in-law Lynn Ann Bouker; brother-in-law Tony (Gina) Bouker; and sister-in-law Nina (David) Baker.
Jim graduated from Bellingham High School in 1987 and proceeded to go on with his life by entering the automotive industry. He began working on cars with his father at their automotive repair shop. In the early 2000s, Jim followed his passion by building a race car, a ‘69 Dodge Dart. He performed bracket drag racing at Mission Raceway and walked away with several trophies. He not only raced his car and worked on it, but he drove it daily. He drove his car to the track sometimes, drove to and from work, and even took a couple trips down south, not to mention he did this with his drag slicks on, in the pouring rain. Go big or go home, right.
Jim ended up retiring from racing, began to sell cars, and in 2010 started his own auto repair business with his wife. Jim put his blood, sweat and tears in perfecting Meridian Auto and Tire. He created a strong team, excellent reputation and had so much determination to make sure every customer was beyond satisfied. Jim was extremely passionate about taking care of his wife and daughter. He displayed work ethic like no other individual. If he wanted it, he put it in, and got it. Jim has left us with a legacy not many can compete with. His largest aspiration when he left this world was to put his family in a position they would never struggle. He exceeded that by more than anyone could have imagined. As the family starts a new chapter, Meridian Auto and Tire will be carried on and continue to take care of the community by Jim’s wife and daughter.
Aside from Jim's life in the automotive industry, he enjoyed doing activities with his family and friends. Jim took numerous fishing trips with his friends, the crew earned first place in the 2012 Roche Harbor Salmon Classic. Jim was frequently on the local trails riding his mountain bike with friends. He also took several mountain biking trips with his friends to go experience some trails outside of Bellingham. Shortly after Jim was diagnosed with cancer he went to live it up to the fullest with his wife. Jim put his occupation and passion on hold to enjoy the time he had left. His daughter stepped into big shoes and was taught how to take over and run the business. Jim began his retirement by purchasing a Jeep Rubicon, to explore trails with the family, then got a Polaris RZR. These were the experiences and moments that he dreamed of and loved. He always wanted the best for everyone around him. Following this he purchased a truck and toy hauler. He began traveling down the coast between Washington, Oregon, California, and Idaho with his wife and friends. He and his family went on numerous off-roading trails, as well as spending a lot of time on the dunes. One of Jim’s biggest highlights was an event called King of Hammers. The event is an off-roading race that takes place in the Mojave Desert in Johnson Valley, California once a year. Jim and his wife were riding around in their RZR and unknowingly got on the race course. A competitor came up behind them and rear ended their RZR, lucky minimal damage was done, and Jim got a good laugh out of it. Jim took these three years to spend with his wife and take a couple trips with his daughter. Jim's wife was by his side through these tough three years, but they did their best to live it up and indeed created a substantial amount of memories together.
Jim has left us with an unforgettable legacy and greatly touched a multitude of other’s lives. He will be dearly missed by his family, friends, customers, acquaintances and many others. A celebration of life will take place this summer and details will be announced at a later date.
As Jim would say, “The Show Must Go On”.