James Peter Cinelli

It is with a heavy heart that we share the passing of our beloved husband and father, James Peter Cinelli, on January 5, 2025. The world traveler whose footsteps touched five continents and whose words impacted thousands of hearts arrived for his flight to heaven surrounded by his loving wife and children.

Born June 23, 1965 to Robert and Anita Cinelli in Buffalo, New York, Jim entered the world as a middle-child and, true to form, began a lifetime commitment to ensuring his presence was always felt. Jim graduated from DeSales High School in 1983 much to the delight of his teachers and the nuns at school as they could relax knowing his reign of pranking had come to an end. Following a brief collegiate wrestling career, Jim packed his bags to head for warmer weather, arriving in Miami, Florida with only a few dollars to his name and a commitment to blazing his own trail. Following a few years of taking classes at Miami Dade College, working in hospitality, tending to horses, and making South Beach his latest arena for mischief, Jim received an offer to become a Travel Director allowing him to explore the world - an opportunity he’d happily have done for free if he was a worse negotiator. After traversing the globe for a few years, including celebrating a birthday with a tribe in Africa, Jim’s wanderlust came to a screeching halt when he met his forever-home, Lisa. As he did with everything in his life, Jim’s courtship of Lisa was anything but subtle. From meeting to getting engaged within a calendar year, a new outlet for Jim’s bottomless sense of purpose had begun to take shape. Jim and Lisa enjoyed four years of childless bliss, settling down in Huntley, Illinois and building the foundation for the family that was to come.

While his roles as a father and a husband were the most valued titles he held in life, Jim’s entrepreneurial spirit persisted in his work as he spent cumulative years in Europe and Asia during his 15-year tenure at Motorola. Upon returning from his work trips, Jim’s suitcases would be filled with trinkets, gifts, souvenirs, and bootleg DVDs - but more importantly, through his ability to weave a story, he brought back his travels themselves as he regaled the children with stories about The Great Wall or touring Buckingham Palace. Between his travels, Jim also somehow found the time to volunteer as a coach for the various sports his children participated in, and spent evenings pursuing and earning his Associate’s, Bachelor’s, and eventually Master’s Degrees.

In 2007, the family moved to what would become their forever family-home in Hartland, Wisconsin. Having found his “blank canvas” on four acres of Wisconsin backwoods, Jim embarked on transforming every aspect of the home and property into a reflection of the family he so cherished. Jim’s investment into the house was holistic, frequently making the impossible happen by providing any and everything the kids could ask for from go-karts and ziplines to installing and maintaining a pool. Despite facing heavy resistance, Jim was steadfast in teaching his children the value of doing things yourself and finding joy in “doing the work.”

A true modern Renaissance man, Jim’s interests were myriad and his passions countless. From a deep respect and reverence for history, politics, and the military; to the zeal he had for classic cars; from his appreciation of cinema seen in his inability to pass over any low-budget SciFi movie or slapstick comedy; to his profound respect for nature and animals evidenced by his allowal of the family to include at various times a lizard, goose, turtle, and a stray kitten that would eventually steal his heart. Jim never shied from allowing himself to fully feel his emotions, something that could frequently be heard during gardening weekends around the house or felt via his otherworldly thoughtfulness in the ways he gave gifts to others.

His worldliness made him a titan within any room he entered, despite his “5 foot 7” stature. His emotional intelligence and wit made him both interesting and approachable to anyone. And his zest that he had for life itself allowed him to form relationships and bonds with people at a speed and depth that many go their entire lives without knowing. Jim’s battle with cancer, like so many other challenges in his life, never altered his fundamental belief that through a positive perspective and a strong support network nothing in life was unconquerable. “One thing at a time” was a common motto for Jim, whether that was referring to the process of regrouting a bathroom floor or the steps he’d need to take to move forward in his cancer treatments.

The legacy of Jim can be distilled into the gifts that he freely provided to any and all he spent time with. In ways only he could manage, Jim left both an impression and, frequently, a change in perspective that helped so many - whether it came from a personal anecdote, a history lesson, a well-timed joke, or simply providing a deeply empathetic ear to make you feel heard and important. The gifts that Jim gave to all who knew him are eternal, as his generosity to share parts of himself was endless.

Jim is survived by the love of his life, Lisa Cinelli, wife of 34 years and their five children, Cory (Alia), Joshua, Rebecca, Jacob, and Nicholas. In addition to his immediate family, Jim is lovingly remembered by his mother, Anita Cinelli; his brother, Tom (Anita) Cinelli; his sister, Mary Beth (Joseph) Taylor. He was also a cherished uncle to 9, great-uncle to 15, and the treasured “Mr. Jim” to countless families and their children who attended the Cinelli Family Daycare.

Relatives and friends are to be invited to celebrate Jim’s life at Pagenkopf Funeral Home in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, on Saturday, January 11th at 3:00PM. Visitation with the family will take place at the same location, beginning at 12:00PM through the start of the memorial service.

In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations made to The LaBahn Pancreatic Cancer Program (at the Medical College of Wisconsin).