James Edward Wiensch
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Longtime resident of Mequon, died October 4, 2020 at the age of 89 years.
Jim is survived by his beloved wife of 62 years Carol (nee Holmes); his children Adam (Lee) Wiensch of Milwaukee, Jessica (James) Senecal of Portland, OR, Megan (Daniel) O'Keefe of Chicago, IL and Caroline (Raja) David of St. Paul, MN; his sister, Jane (Romie) Monarski of Grafton and ten grandchildren who will forever remember his colorful stories, his generosity and his high expectations. Jim was preceded in death by his parents, Gustave and Emily Wiensch and siblings Donna Waldusky and Dale Wiensch.
Jim was born January 28, 1931 in Chippewa Falls, WI and was fiercely proud of his hometown and his upbringing on the family farm. After early adventures like hitchhiking to Canada to work as a lumberjack at age 15, Jim settled down and joined the United States Navy, where he served on a minesweeper during the Korean War. He enrolled at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and soon met Carol, the love of his life, on a double date where they both decided that they fancied each other more than they liked their respective dates. They married in 1958 and raised their family in Mequon.
Jim had a life-long love of hunting and fishing. He hunted from the same deer stand near Winter, WI for over fifty years and usually shot more and bigger deer than anyone else. He loved tarpon fishing in Costa Rica and caught tarpon even when no one else in the fishing camp did.
In 1963 Jim and his partner Bern Garrison formed the Jim-Bern Company to build and manage townhouses in the Milwaukee and Minneapolis/St. Paul areas. Jim remained active in the business until his death.
A generous philanthropist and community volunteer, Jim served on the Board of Directors of Marquette University High School, Rotary Club of Milwaukee and the Wisconsin Psychoanalytic Foundation and on the Mequon Planning Commission and Ozaukee County Board.
Jim's family would like to acknowledge the loving care provided by Pat Vogt CNA, Joe Heavern and the many caregivers from Stowell Associates who made his last days immeasurably better.
Visitation Saturday October 10 from 11:00AM until time of Mass of Christian Burial at 11:30AM at Lumen Christi Catholic Church, 2750 W. Mequon Rd., Mequon, WI 53092. The Funeral Mass will be livestreamed on Saturday October 10 at 11:00AM using the link below.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCV_UNj0v-pMOF_wk5P5bQvQ/live
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be directed to Red Cloud Indian School -https://www.redcloudschool.org/ , 100 Mission Drive, Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, SD, 57770.
Schmidt & Bartelt Funeral Home-Mequon serving the family www.schmidtandbartelt.com 1-262-241-8085