Business Community
Window manufacturing baron Jim Milgard called Gig Harbor home
Longtime Gig Harbor resident, window manufacturing titan and philanthropist James “Jim” Milgard died Friday, Jan. 31, at his home in Indian Wells, California. He was 84.
Milgard’s father Maurice and older brother Gary launched Milgard Glass in a small building on South Tacoma Way in 1958. Jim joined the family business in 1961 at age 21, according to a 2014 story in US Window & Door. They expanded and diversified Milgard Manufacturing into the largest vinyl, aluminum and fiberglass window and patio door maker in the western United States.
Maurice died in 1980 and Gary in 2005. The company was sold to Masco Corporation of Michigan in 2001.
Jim Milgard at a 2021 University of Washington-Tacoma event. Photo courtesy of UW-Tacoma
Jim grew up in Tacoma but lived his adult life in the Gig Harbor area. He and wife Carolyn, who built a magnificent home at Allen Point in Rosedale in 1987, contributed to many charitable causes.
St. Anthony Hospital building bears their name
Their donations helped fund the construction and development of Milgard Medical Pavilion at St. Anthony Hospital. Naming the facility, which aims to provide advanced medical services to the Gig Harbor area, after the Milgards honored their commitment to improving community health.
The Milgards were major benefactors of the University of Washington-Tacoma, which opened its permanent campus in 1997. The family in 2003 donated $15 million to fund the school’s business administration program and led to the naming of the Milgard School of Business. The gift also endowed a Center for Leadership and Social Responsibility and a $3 million scholarship program at the campus.
In 2007, Jim Milgard also pledged $2 million toward the campus assembly hall.
The Milgard Medical Pavilion at St. Anthony Hospital. Photo by Ed Friedrich
Jim was among a group of boating enthusiasts who began meeting weekly 10 to 15 years ago at Sunset Grill. They called it Taco Tuesday, said Dick Baerg, one of the participants.
“He was a great guy. I really liked him a lot,” said Baerg, 84. “He was a quiet guy, but when he spoke, people listened. And what he had to say was always true. He was truthful and kind and thoughtful, all good things.”
Made friends through investment club
Peter Norman is also among the Taco Tuesday participants, most of whom “got smart” and have since gotten rid of their boats, he said. But he knew the Milgards long before that. He and Gary were friends at Clover Park High School when Jim was in middle school and the Milgards lived on American Lake.
In the mid-1960s, Norman, Jim and about a dozen other friends formed the Mud Lake Investment Club. It continued until 2004.
“Jim became a good friend through the investment club connection,” said Norman, 87.
Jim and Gary Milgard. Photo courtesy of UW-Tacoma
Milgard loved to play golf and travel to his other homes in Oregon and California, Norman said.
“He was just an easy-going, comfortable guy, and a good friend,” he said. “He didn’t necessarily have to be the subject of attention when a group gathered but a comfortable person sharing with his friends. He really supported his community. I’m really going to miss the guy. The community is going to miss him also.”
Exclusive supplier to Rush Companies
Gordon Rush, founder of Gig Harbor-based real estate and development firm Rush Companies, bought thousands of windows from Milgard. He also co-owns Peninsula Shopping Center in downtown Gig Harbor with Jim and other Milgard family members.
“I’ve known him for a long time because I’ve bought windows from him my whole career,” said Rush, who established his business in 2001. Milgard was his exclusive window supplier because of its service and product quality, he said.
Jim Milgard and wife Carolyn at the UW Gala in 2007. Photo courtesy of UW-Tacoma
“He was a wonderful man, a kind man and a generous man,” Rush said. “He was full of wisdom. He shared a lot of his life experiences and wisdom with me. He was a great conversationalist. We’d go to coffee and lunch. The time I spent with him was a wonderful time.” They also went fishing together, he said.
Survivors include his wife, Carolyn; son, James Milgard Jr., and his wife, Jennifer, and their two daughters, Madison and Molly; and daughter, Allison Milgard, and her wife, Heather Reid.