On Wednesday, June 7th, 2023, James Joseph Dohms took the last breath in his wonderful life. A wonderful life that included being a devoted husband to Caroline, loving father to Poncho, Bapes, Bronco, Beano and Mrs. Worm and proud grandfather to Cleopatra, Jesse, Travis, Queen of Hearts, Pork Chop, Pistol (not Crystal, Liz), Miss Amanda, Mr Adam and Big Al. Jim was born on August 8th, 1931, in Sheboygan, WI. He was the 4th of 7 children born to Marie (Stoelb) and Nicholas Dohms.

Upon graduation from Sheboygan High School, Jim entered the service. He served as a First Class Seaman in the Navy in the Pacific Theater. He was no stranger to a little risk and adventure, hitchhiking from Wisconsin to San Diego several times in the next 3 years.

Jim attended the Milwaukee School of Engineering from 1952-1954. He clearly had some great times in college as he was known to recount these years decades later to his grandchildren when they started to enroll in colleges.

On September 3rd, 1955, less than a year after meeting in a bar, he wed the love of his life, Caroline Seider. Together, they traveled around for Jim's job with the telephone company, living in a trailer. They traveled between Minnesota, Wisconsin and Chicago. Looking for more of a stable living situation after the birth of their second child, Jim was hired at GTE where he worked until his retirement 33 years later on April 30th, 1987. They lived for several years in Marshfield before moving to their house in Rothschild in the early 1960s. It was in this house that Jim still lived until his passing.

Jim and Caroline enjoyed raising their family and led an active lifestyle. They loaded up their station wagon and took their 5 children to Disney World, Niagara Falls, Lambeau Field, camping, fishing and water skiing. Jim and Caroline were daily walkers and if you saw them walking in the neighborhood, they would most likely be walking hand in hand. Jim was an avid Brewers and Packers fan. One could expect to see him sitting in the garage or on the swing outside, eating Ritz crackers and listening to the Brewers game on the radio. He had a great sense of humor and always remembered a birthday, either with a card, phone call or FaceTime singing "Happy Birthday" (but you could only see his nose, crystal blue eyes and forehead). Jim's competitive spirit shined through when he played card games and spoons with a slap on the table or a sly laying of his last card on the table. He enjoyed tracking the stock market and has notebooks of numbers to prove it! Never one to shy away from play, he often would wrestle in the living room or swim with his children near the shore and one by one, gently throw them up and into the water as they screamed with delight. He recognized and encouraged his children to pursue their interests, even if they were not his own, spending a full day in the heat at the EAA convention with his son, volunteering to be a patient for his youngest daughter as her interest in nursing bloomed and even gifting one of his daughters her first beloved dog, Caesar. And years later, when it was time to say goodbye to Caesar, it was Jim who searched around for a vet that had the most gentle method and spent Caesar's last moments with him.

As the years advanced and Caroline was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, Jim became her primary caregiver. He wore her favorite color, yellow, to help her remember who he was. After she lost her battle with Alzheimer's in June 2021, Jim adapted to her absence the best he could. He played his keyboard and sang, continued meeting his buddies at McDonald's for coffee and even learned how to FaceTime his children and grandchildren (He was especially proud of this saying, "You CAN teach an old guy new tricks!").

Jim is preceded in death by his parents, his wife, Caroline; sisters Virginia Netter, Sister Mary Danielle Dohms, Ann Celeen Dohms and Letitia (Letty) Singh.

Jim is survived by: his children, Denise (Don) Machak of Mosinee, Catherine (Don) Valentyne of Waupaca, Stephen (Naomi) Dohms of Wausau, Valerie Dohms (Shawn Stashek) of Stevens Point and Janet (Paul) Weber of Verona; his sister, Sister Margaret Mary Dohms of Trinity Woods in Milwaukee; his brother, Daniel (Diane) of Sheboygan; sister-in-law Karen (Milt) Dabbert of Wauwatosa; his grandchildren, Tara (Clayton) Groth of Cottage Grove, Jesse (Gina) Machak of Mosinee, Travis (Ashley) Valentyne of Anna, Texas, Jamie Valentyne-Fletcher (Travis Fletcher) of DeForest, Emily Dohms of Eau Claire, Elizabeth (Andrew) Harter of Eau Claire, Amanda Gottschalk of Nashville, Tenn., Adam Gottschalk of Milwaukee and Allie Weber of Madison; eight great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild; and many nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.

Jim's life will be celebrated in a memorial service at St Mark's Catholic Church in Rothschild on Thursday, June 22nd. Visitation 10:00 am-12:00 pm, mass at 12:00 pm. There will be a luncheon to follow at Gorski's restaurant in Mosinee.

John J. Buettgen Funeral Home is assisting the family at this time.  Online condolences may be expressed at HonorOne.com