Legislators Remember Stoicheff Sandpoint Lawmaker Praised For His Sense Of Fairness, Humor

When Jim Stoicheff arrived in heaven, Rep. Chuck Cuddy figures, he went right to work.

“I’m sure that St. Peter already has a report that tells him some of the forms he could do away with to cut down on the bureaucracy,” Cuddy, D-Orofino, said Tuesday to gentle laughter from state lawmakers.

The Legislature paused Tuesday to remember Stoicheff, the longtime Democratic lawmaker from Sandpoint who touched lives from the school classrooms of Sandpoint to the marble halls of the state Capitol in Boise. Stoicheff died just before Christmas.

Gov. Dirk Kempthorne said his life was among those touched by the retired school principal. Kempthorne said he first encountered Stoicheff long before becoming governor - when Kempthorne was a University of Idaho student trying to lobby the Legislature.

Kempthorne said his focus as governor on the needs of children and young people can be traced, in part, to Stoicheff’s influence.

“Maybe some of that is Jim Stoicheff showing through,” he said.

“Jim came down here to represent the working person,” Cuddy said. “Jim took care of those people.”

Laughter sprinkled the solemnity of the House during the memorial service as many recalled the funny things Stoicheff had done and said while bringing an evenhanded, down-to-earth approach to his service in the Legislature.

“He was a real fashion-conscious person,” said Speaker of the House Bruce Newcomb, R-Burley, drawing laughter right away. Stoicheff was known for his loud polyester sport coats.

“He had found this tie that had a monogram `S’ for `Stoicheff,”’ Newcomb recalled. “Then my son told me, `Dad, that’s a Safeway tie.”’

Stoicheff was known for whistling tunes - often a special one to greet each legislator - and for his sense of humor. But most of all, lawmakers said, he stood out for his fairness.

“Even right after you had opposed him, he’d come over and shake your hand, thank you for picking out points he hadn’t seen and ask what he could do for you,” Cuddy recalled.

“The only criticism I ever heard of Jim was that he wasn’t partisan enough,” Kempthorne said.

Stoicheff’s widow, Jerry, is serving in the House in his place. After the service in the House chambers, she greeted lawmakers and well-wishers, who gathered in clumps in the chamber’s hallways to share their favorite “Stoich” stories.

“There wasn’t a soul here who didn’t love him,” Newcomb said.