Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
McCallister was known for his jokes and pranks
Karl Kangas, the bookkeeper for the bus garage, shares his feelings for James McCallister as the buses Friday pass Olympic Middle School and Mountain View Elementary.
School bus drivers, from left, Jodene Garrick, D'Lea Elkins and Trish Bennett, wearing bandanas in tribute to James McCallister, prepare to leave the bus barn across the street from Shelton High School Friday to parade past the district's schools.
On Friday, bus drivers parade past Mountain View Elementary and other Shelton School District schools in honor of bus driver James McCallister, who died from COVID on Dec. 4.
Shelton school bus driver James L. McCallister, 58, died Dec. 4 from COVID.
Among the Mason County school bus drivers, James L. McCallister was known as a joker and prankster who was great with kids and took new drivers under his wing.
COVID claimed the life of the 58-year-old Elma resident on Dec. 4, leaving a hole at the Mason County Transportation Cooperative bus barn across the street from Shelton High School.
On Friday, the bus drivers paid tribute to their fallen co-worker with a parade of buses that filed past the schools in the Shelton School District. McCallister was known for wearing bandanas on his head, and his colleagues wore them in his honor.
Lori Pantoja, the router and dispatcher for MCTC, said McCallister was "sort of like a father figure at times." He helped teach new drivers, and rode along on their first trips.
"He had a heart of gold, a big old teddy bear," Pantoja said. "He had everyone in an uproar, constantly. We had to close the windows because we were all laughing so hard."
The U.S. Army veteran drove students in the Pioneer School District before transporting Shelton students beginning in 2012.
"He loved his kids," Pantoja said. "He cared for the kids as if they were his own. He was big on trips, because his daughters were involved in dance."
McCallister also liked to transport the wrestling team to away games so he could root for them, she said.
McCallister's route started at 4:20 a.m. at Hama Hama Oysters, then he drove up to Lake Cushman, and then picked students up at the Lucky Dog Casino.
The pandemic has created bus driver shortages in local school districts. When he wasn't driving, McCallister slept in his Volt in the parking lot so he could be available to fill in on other routes, Pantoja said.
Less Mosley, a bus driver since 2017, said McCallister's death casts "a long shadow."
"He became that positive role model every day," he said. "He was optimistic, pleasant to be around."
McCallister was skilled de-escalating conflicts on his bus, and on the buses of others, Mosley said.
"He was really good working with kids," he said.
At the bus barn, McCallister was known for his jokes, and for shaking up pop cans and bottles and laughing at the ensuing spray, said driver Patty Laserinko.
"You never left your soda bottle unattended," she said.
McCallister leaves behind four children, including daughters who attend CHOICE High School and Pioneer Middle School.
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