James Raymond "Jim" Hanshaw II

James Raymond "Jim" Hanshaw II was a Vietnam era U.S. Army veteran, longtime West Virginia public utility worker and Sutton Dam employee, and family man from Braxton County, West Virginia. He died on September 19, 2026, at the age of 76.

Hanshaw was born on January 26, 1950, in Smithers, West Virginia, and was raised by his adoptive parents, Virgie and Raymond Hanshaw. He graduated from Nicholas County High School in 1969 and, just three days after graduation, married Donna Jean Long, who became his wife of 57 years. From 1971 to 1973 he served in the United States Army as a military policeman, a period that included service during the Vietnam War.

After leaving the Army, Hanshaw returned home to West Virginia and worked for Tom Bailes Construction, Halstead's Sporting Goods, and Union Carbide. In 1981 he and his family moved to Braxton County, where he joined the Army Corps of Engineers and spent much of his career working in Sutton Dam operations as well as sewer and water operations, a role that connected him to the everyday infrastructure of his community for decades. Outside of work, he enjoyed dancing, fishing, hunting, and watching television, but those who knew him said he cherished time with his family above all else.

Hanshaw was not a nationally known public figure. His life was documented publicly through the obituary published by Roach Funeral Home of Gassaway, West Virginia, which described him as a devoted husband, father, and grandfather whose decades of military and civic service left a mark on the people of Braxton and Nicholas counties.

He died on Saturday, September 19, 2026, at the Hubbard Hospice House in Charleston, West Virginia. His obituary did not state a cause of death. In keeping with his wishes, he will be cremated, and his family plans a Celebration of His Life service to be held at a later date. He was preceded in death by his adoptive parents and several adoptive siblings, and he is survived by his wife, Donna Jean Hanshaw, his son William James "Bill" Hanshaw and Bill's wife Pam, his grandchildren John Johnson, Chase Hanshaw, and Madison Hanshaw, and several nieces and nephews.