James Kasper

FALL RIVER, Wis. –James W. “Jim” Kasper age 88, passed away peacefully in his home on Saturday, May 23, 2020 surrounded by his family.

Jim was born in Columbus the fifth child of eleven and only son of William G. and Rose (Wedel) Kasper on February 26, 1932. Jim attended school in Columbus. He proudly served in the U.S. Marine Corp during the Korean War conflict from 1951-1953. He was honored and humbled in 2013 when he went on the Badger Honor Flight. On August 28, 1954 he married Bernadine (Bing) Schriver. They were married 56 years before her passing in 2011. From this blessed union came 6 children. They farmed until 1986. Jim worked for Cenex and the United Co-op until “semi” retirement in 1991. From 1991 -2011 Jim worked seasonal for the United Co-op, delivering fertilizer to the farmers during spring planting. A job he was passionate about and loved every opportunity to chat with the many farmers on his route. He also worked seasonal during these same years for Seneca Foods driving a bean harvester. At the age of 79 he was forced to retire due to health reasons. Together, Jim and Bing enjoyed many years of square dancing, traveling all over to different clubs for a night of dancing, socializing and developing new friendships. Jim never stopped being a farmer at heart.

His passion for planting and harvesting was evident in his large gardens he raised. He enjoyed sharing the many varieties of produce he harvested with friends and family who were always stunned by the enormous size of his tomatoes, zucchini and kohlrabi. Dad’s green thumb flowed into the numerous roses and house plants he grew as well. There wasn’t a plant he couldn’t grow from roots. Many friends and family members have been recipients of some of his plants. When he could, he would enjoy riding his tractor on his cousin’s farm. Jim enjoyed teaching others. His greatest accomplishments came when those he had taught showed an interest in learning and willingness to try their hand at gardening, growing plants or baking. He was well known for his tasty zucchini bread, oatmeal raisin cookies and apple pie. He was a caregiver to his friends and family. In his free time, he enjoyed watching football, especially the Broncos. The highlight of 2019 was when his grandson took him, for his first ever experience, to the Broncos vs Packers game at Lambeau Field. He was quite the gambler, meeting up weekly to shake dice with his buddies. He enjoyed watching westerns nightly. Besides his green thumb, his greatest pride and joy were his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He looked forward to visits from them and seeing them at the holidays. He was a proud grandpa and bragged about his grandchildren and great-children and all their ccomplishments.

He felt much joy and happiness when his family was with him. Jim is survived by his children Douglas of Pardeeville, Beth Brace of Sun Prairie, Mark (Cyndi) of Richland, MO and Patti Soter of Fall River; seventeen grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren. He is further survived by his sisters Betty Monroe, Marge O’Rourke, Barb Schriver, Carol Beck and Kathleen Kessenich; one brother-in-law Ronald Schriver of Az; numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. He is preceded in death by his parents; siblings Marion Krupp, Monica Burke, Rosella Tiedt, Bea Boettcher and Patricia Gibson; nine brother-in-laws; children Denise Dornbrook in 2018, and Thomas Kasper in 2018; grand-daughter Destiny Chase; one son-in-law Richard Dornbrook in 2018.

The family wishes to give special thanks to the many caregivers who have helped care for dad so he could remain in his home to live out his life his way, to Heartland Hospice for the special care, compassion and support they provided to dad and his family throughout his journey and to the VA Home Based Primary Care Team, specifically Brianna Braukhoff RN.

So full of life, so full of joy and happiness
So many things you wanted to get done
Your hands always busy, your mind always working
You lived your life your way.
May you once again hop on your scooter and ride your stairway to heaven.
Dad you have taught us all so many life lessons to bring us to where we are today. Your contributions in this life will never be forgotten.
We love you and will miss you. Forever in our hearts

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