In life, Jim was calm, generous with his time for others, and acted according to an inner beat composed by the graces of both a jesting bard and a gentleman. His mother Kerma learned thus immediately upon Jim’s arrival in this world during the course of a seemingly never-ending 24-hour birth on August 19, 1975. All those who shared in Jim’s life, from family to friends to acquaintances, knew the same unassuming man filled with these qualities and a love unbounded by the material world. He was of rare stuff indeed.
The eldest of three children, Jim grew up in a household teeming with laughter, animals and the smell of freshly baked cookies. At the age of three, his first motor vehicle incident occurred while driving his grandparent’s sedan into a refrigerator. The refrigerator works to this day; the car does not. At the age of five, he made his first of thirty annual fall trips to his great grandfather’s farm near Drake, N.D. with his father hunting waterfowl. Jim spent much of his free time in youth on a baseball diamond, football field, hockey rink, or neighborhood front yard in pursuit of the next great play.
As an active member of the Shepherd of the Lake Lutheran Church youth group, Jim traveled with an assemblage of friends under the leadership of Russ Timmerman on numerous trips to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, hiking and skiing in Colorado through the Rockies, to Atlanta, the Apostle Islands, and South Dakota, Iowa and Appalachia on Habitat for Humanity projects. He also participated as a mentor in the confirmation program and acted as President of the youth group during his senior year of high school.
During high school, Jim enjoyed being part of the theater group and took great pride as a member of the mad jazz choir group. He graduated from the Prior Lake High School in 1994 and punctuated 12 years of schooling by jumping out of a plane.
After high school, Jim worked the culinary gamut from The Ground Round to Timberlodge Steakhouse (the place where the (in)famous “Goonies” cadre began their ‘magical friendship’) to Maggiano’s. Between these job stints, he set off to California in his pickup ‘The Black Dog’ living on a harbored sailboat for six lean months.
As an avid Minnesota Gophers fan, Jim loved attending football games with fellow maroon and gold supporters as part of the group, DTTG (Dinkytown Tailgating). Through the years, camaraderie, communion, and the personal connections made and developed between a large and diverse network of friends remained Jim’s most valued asset. Their friendship meant more to him than words can possibly convey.
An excellent chef, Jim’s specialties included Mexican and Italian cuisine, deep-dish pizza, and BBQ smoked ribs. During the past spring and summer, he spent valued time in his flower and vegetable gardens growing tomatillos and tomatoes and tending to hostas, herbs and especially his dianthus.
In the fall of 2007, Jim’s world fundamentally changed when he met a young woman named, Jill Pelkola. The focus of his eyes, his words, and his deeds would forever be orientated in a new direction towards a sun-strewn horizon. On November 14, 2009 at the Hurley Presbyterian Church in Hurley, WI, Jim and Jill exchanged wedding vows and united in holy matrimony. They toured Spain for their honeymoon visiting Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, and Segovia. They later enjoyed visiting Washington D.C. and then San Francisco and Yosemite National Forest on their last trip together this October.
At the young age of 36 and a resident of St. Paul, Jim passed away peacefully with his family at his side from a short yet graceful battle with cancer the evening of Friday, October 14, 2011 at his parent’s home in Savage, MN.
When the whole stirs and yearns, fear not the lack, rather know Jim’s presence will not cease as his caring and warmth forever maintain constancy in all hearts touched by his own.
Forever loved, Jim will be deeply missed by wife, Jill; parents, Charles and Kerma of Savage; brother, David Frankhauser of Savage; sister, Christy Frankhauser of Savage; grandparents, Vera Frankhauser of Savage, Fred and Gloria Fretheim of Bloomington; father-in-law, Gary Pelkola of Hurley, WI; brother-in-law, Todd (Jodi) Pelkola of Green Bay, WI, sister-in-law, Janet (Colin) DiGiorgio of Ironwood, MI; special cat, Buster; nieces, nephews, cousins, other relatives and friends.
Jim is preceded in death by his grandfather, Donovan Frankhauser; and mother-in-law, Shirley Pelkola.
Celebration of Life Service, Wednesday, October 19, 2011, 1:00 PM at Shepherd of the Lake Lutheran Church in Prior Lake. There will be visitation at the church two hours prior to services. Interment will be at Spring Lake Cemetery in Prior Lake.
The Frankhauser family is served with honor, care and compassion by Ballard-Sunder Funeral Home, Prior Lake Chapel www.BallardSunderFuneral.com
