Jesse was born July 25, 1946, in Saginaw, Michigan. He passed away July 6, 2025, at St. Peter Hospital in Olympia. He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Jennifer; son, Jonathan of Santa Fe, New Mexico, and granddaughter, Elizabeth; and son, Joel of Salkum and granddaughters, Keira and Charlotte. Jess graduated from Burlington-Edison High School and attended Centralia Community College before enlisting in the U.S. Army. He served one tour of duty in Vietnam. At the completion of his service, he studied at the University of Washington until deciding to move to Salkum to join the family business, McDaniel Telephone Company, and later completed his working years with TDS Telecom. As a volunteer with the Salkum Fire Department, he gave time both as a firefighter and an EMT. He completed his service for the district as a fire commissioner, also serving as president of the Lewis County Fire Commissioners Association. Following retirement, Jess spent many years cruising with his wife, seeing different parts of the world and making new friends. A quiet, patient man of few words who loved his family dearly. The greatest joy in the last few years was seeing his granddaughters walk through the front door and attend one of their activities. A graveside service with military honors will be held at 1 p.m., Thursday, July 17, at the Salkum Cemetery.