The family of Jim Borrow is remembering him on the first anniversary of his death, and sharing this with his community:

Dr. James Whitaker Borrow
February 1, 1944 – June 12, 2022

Born in Seattle to Will and Lucile Borrow, Jim was raised in West Seattle, graduating from West Seattle High School in 1962. He completed an undergraduate degree at the university of Washington (1967), where he was a member of the UW crew. He remained friends with many that he crewed with for the rest of his life. He also graduated medical school at the U.W. (1971) and years later, a residency in Radiology (1987).

He lived in the San Francisco Bay area during the 1970s into the early ’80s, where he was a staff physician at the SF Public Health Service Hospital (1971-1974) and then practiced emergency medicine at Alameda Hospital (1974-1983). There he met his future wife and life partner, Janice, who arrived in his emergency room from an auto accident. They married in 1982 and moved to Seattle.

In Seattle, he completed a residency in Radiology and practiced at First Hill Diagnostic Imaging (FHDI) from 1987 until his retirement in 2016. During his years there, he did early pioneering work on prostate cancer diagnosis, first with ultrasound and ultrasound-guided prostate biopsy and subsequently developed and promoted high-resolution prostate MRI techniques and clinical applications. He was a trusted clinician and held in very high regard in the field of both general oncology and specialized studies of bone marrow-based tumors in collaborative work with the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Another area of special expertise was in detailed MRI evaluation of a variety of musculoskeletal disorders, with particularly detailed knowledge and attention to the complex joints of the human body. He was often the definitive opinion on abnormalities of the more common disorders of the knee and spine.

In 2007 while still practicing at FHDI, he became a clinical instructor in the department of Family Medicine at the U.W. School of Medicine. He was boarded in Family Practice as well as Radiology.

Jim combined an extreme level of interpretive ability with an unusual level of compassion and personal interaction with patients, which is uncommon in radiology. He was a valued clinical physician who chose to specialize in Diagnostic Radiology and left profound impacts on the medical community in Washington.

He was a dedicated physician who generously assisted many patients, family members, friends, and friends of friends navigate our medical system when they were faced with serious health challenges.

Throughout his life, Jim had a passionate love of travel, and he and his wife, Janice, traveled extensively. A favorite destination was the Himalayas, where they trekked numerous times in Nepal, Tibet, and Bhutan.

Jim had a never-ceasing curiosity about and interest in the world, nature, history, culture, and people. Besides degrees in medicine, he had a degree in television broadcasting from San Francisco State and a degree in Technical Writing from the U.W. He pursued both out of his desire to make medicine more understandable to the patient population.

Being civic minded, he was a member of both the Capitol Hill and Alki Community Council, working to better the livability of the neighborhoods he resided in.

Being steadfast, kind and compassionate, he loved to help people in any way he could. During the course of his life he touched many lives.

He was preceded in death by sister Susan Flood. He is survived by his wife Janice Viekman Borrow; sister Betsy Borrow, brother Bill Borrow; sister in law Diana Borrow, brother in law John Flood, sister and brother in law Meredith and Ralph Gilbert; and numerous nieces, nephews; grandnieces, and grandnephews.

On this, the first anniversary of your death, we remember and honor you and your life well lived.

Jim’s online guest book may be signed at obituaries.seattletimes.com

(WSB publishes West Seattle obituaries and memorial announcements by request, free of charge. Please email the text, and a photo if available, to westseattleblog@gmail.com)