Jake was born Clenney Shaw Banks, Jr. on April 10, 1962, in San Bernardino, California. He was immediately nicknamed Jake. He moved to Williams, Oregon, when he was nine years old and attended Williams Elementary, Lincoln Savage Junior High and Hidden Valley High School.

Jake was active in 4-H and FFA. He raised pigs and beef cattle which he showed at the Josephine County Fair.

Early on Jake was artistic and an avid horseman. Throughout his childhood and adult life, he had horses. He loved to ride and train them. When he was not doing something with horses he would spend hours working on various art projects. He would fully immerse himself in whatever he was working on. He was a gifted artist who loved to draw, paint, sculpt, make costumes.

Jake spent time as a professional landscaper, consignment artist and floral designer. He loved to decorate for the holidays and cook elaborate meals. Jake was a handsome man who was the cover man for Drummer magazine and 2nd runner-up for Mr. Leather 1980 in San Francisco. He was always quick with a joke and had a razor-sharp sense of humor.

Jake and his life partner Dewey Alwood moved to the island in 1986 and settled in Dockton on a small farm where they kept Jake’s horses. They loved to travel, ski, sail and spend time on the property with their animals.

Jake moved to Palm Springs, California, in 2016. He passed away in a Palm Springs hospital on April 19th, 2019, after battling a long illness with HIV/AIDS and colon cancer. He is survived by his sister Becky Tymchuk, niece Kate Flowers and nephew Clark Tymchuk. He will be missed greatly by all those who knew him.