James "Jim" Brown

James “Jim” Brown, age 96, of Sullivan, WI passed away peacefully surrounded by his loving family, on Tuesday, March 2, 2022 at The View at Pine Ridge in Oconomowoc. Jim was born on July 9, 1925 in Hamilton, Ohio to Jacque L. Brown and Maude M. Brooks. He was an only child, but always had a trusted companion in the many dogs he owned throughout his life. After graduating from high school in 1943, he joined the Navy Air Corps and attended flight school till September of 1945. On September 3, 1946 he married his high school sweetheart Carol Wilmer and they moved to Wisconsin. Jim graduated in January of 1949 from University of Wisconsin Madison with a Mechanical Engineering degree. The following year they moved to Milwaukee, WI and built a house and started raising their family. Then in 1958 Jim & Carol purchased a lake house on Upper Nemahbin Lake, in the Village of Summit, and moved the entire family out to “Lake Country.” There they made lots of friends, created wonderful memories and finished raising their family. In 1974, after raising three kids on the lake, they moved to Sullivan, WI where they built another house to enjoy country living while hunting, fishing, trapping and watching all the wildlife. Jim had worked as a traveling Sales Representative for Forrer Industries, a leading supplier of masonry block products, for 30+ years. Once he retired, they spent more time traveling throughout the U.S. as well as a trip to South Africa and many cruises with family. Hawaii was one of their favorites, and for nearly 30 years they spent every winter enjoying the islands. They also picked up a new hobby, metal detecting, which they spent many days doing in retirement, both in the surrounding area and while traveling. Jim was a huge sports fan, loyal to his Cincinnati Reds from his youth and to the Wisconsin Badgers from his college days. He always had a game on, no matter what season it was and wore a lot of RED. But both Carol and he also loved golf, and they spent much of their retirement passing on the love of that game to their grandchildren. Jim also started and enjoyed doing triathlons in retirement and often placed first in his age bracket. Jim was predeceased by his loving, patient and kind wife of 72 years, Carol Wilmer Brown in 2018. He is survived by his 3 children: Alan (Mary) Brown, Steven (Patricia) Brown, and Beverly Bartel. He leaves behind his grandchildren: Michael (Landy) Brown, Cindy (Chris) Bankert, Jason (Suzanne) Brown, Jeremy (Krista) Brown, Amber (Todd) Knoll and Brent (Maren) Bartel; 9 great grandchildren: Courtney, Corissa, Ava, Jack, Isabelle, Laken, Cameron, Henry and Hudson; and 2 great-great-grandchildren: Aubrey and David. Jim will be buried in May 2022 with his wife Carol at Summit Cemetery in the VIllage of Summit, in a private family ceremony. The family would like to give a special thanks to the staff at The View at Pine Ridge in Oconomowoc for the loving care shown to James and his family. In lieu of flowers or donations please consider donating to Angels Grace Hospice at https://www.prohealthcare.org/ways-to-give/donate/give-online/