James Allen (Jim) Peaslee, of Prior Lake, passed away at his home on September 30, 2017 at the age of 72, after a courageous battle with cancer. He was surrounded by family and caregivers who loved him.
A visitation will be held on Friday, October 6, 2017 from 4:00 to 7:00 PM at Ballard-Sunder Funeral & Cremation, Prior Lake. A Celebration of Life Service will be held on Saturday, October 7, 2017 at 11:00 AM at the Episcopal Church of the Nativity in Burnsville. Visitation will begin one hour prior to the service.
Jim was born in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin to Claude and Myrtle (Bert and Myrt) Peaslee on September 5, 1945. Jim spent his growing up years in Wisconsin Rapids, where he fell in love with the circus at the age of 5, and where he learned to milk cows and make hay on his grandfather’s farm. He attended Grove School from 1st through 8th grade, and graduated from Lincoln High School in 1963, where he was part of the drum and bugle corps sponsored by the Boy Scouts.
Jim moved to Minneapolis to attend Minneapolis Business College, where he obtained a 2-year Associate Degree in Accounting. He worked for Brown’s Ice Cream and Land O’Lakes as an accountant, and then went to work as a dispatcher/load manager for a local trucking firm. Later, he became a fork lift operator at General Metalware, where he worked for 14 years before going to work for Advance Circuits in Hopkins (a Honeywell company). After leaving Advance Circuits, Jim went to work as a bus driver for Busse Student Transportation in Prior Lake, where he was known for the signs he would put up each day with a short, thought-provoking, often humorous statement. In addition to these ‘regular’ jobs, Jim also worked as a tax preparer and a flea marketer, as well as being a ‘gentleman farmer’ on his Prior Lake hobby farm.
Jim married Shirley O’Toole in 1965, and had two daughters – Kim in 1966 and Lisa in 1971 – before divorcing in 1980. Jim later married and divorced Jeanette Mortice. Then, on October 7, 1995, Jim married Sherieda Bender. It seems that the third time was the charm for Jim, as they moved to Prior Lake, stocked up on horses, cats, and dogs, and lived happily together until Jim’s passing. Jim and Sherieda didn’t have any children of their own, but over the years, a number of young people from the area became their adopted ‘farm kids,’ learning mechanics and haymaking (along with some colorful vocabulary) along the way.
Jim had wide-ranging interests, and was a multi-talented guy. He could fix nearly anything, was a clown college graduate, did sleight of hand magic, loved/told a good joke, and was a steam engine aficionado and a graduate of the University of Rolag College of Steam Traction Engineering.
Jim’s standard answer to ‘How are you?’ was “Mean, cruel, wicked, rotten, and nasty,”….but he was none of those. He was a kind, quiet, and gentle man, with a heart as big as he was, and he will be sorely missed by his loving wife of 22 years, Sherieda Bender; his daughters, Kim (Danny Fabeck) Knickerbocker and Lisa (Ralf Dilzer) Peaslee; his grandchildren, Tyler and Megan Knickerbocker; siblings Sue (Bill) Schulte, Bob (Bev) Peaslee, Bill (Jo) Peaslee; 14 nieces and nephews; his ‘farm kids;’ and, many other relatives and friends.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Bert and Myrtle Peaslee; infant sister, Mary Louise Peaslee; and, infant granddaughter, Lindsey Knickerbocker.
